Saying Goodbye to Dorothy Smith
by Alicia Blade
Summary: She was the one person that Darien relied on as a child and he isn't sure how to handle her death now that he's full grown. But Serena is sure she can help him through. First season. Question marks should be fixed.
1. Chapter 1

Saying Goodbye to Dorothy Smith  
Alicia Blade 

Alright, one more old fic and then I'll start posting Love Potion #19! Though I'm afraid I'm too tired to edit it right now and I'd rather post it unedited than make you wait another two or three days, so please read with an un-finicky eye. Enjoy! 

Reviews always welcome and appreciated. 

All Usa/Mamo fans are invited to join **UsakoMamoru** on livejournal. The community keeps growing and is filled with creativity and... you know, good stuff. Eh... not so much on the vocab today. Anyway, readers, writers, artists, and lurkers welcome. View the link on my bio page. 

**First Love** is being revived! Princess Destiny of Destiny's Gateway has kindly offered to incorporate the old first season favorites into her own fanfiction archives! She's in the process of combining them as we speak. However, she needs assistance from somebody who is familiar with **eFiction**. If you are, please contact her. More info on my bio page. Thanks to everyone who's been asking about it, I'm very excited to see it up and running again! 

Now on to the story. 

... 

Saying Goodbye to Dorothy Smith  
Chapter One 

A nine-year-old Darien closed the oak door quietly behind him, before turning and smiling at the old woman in the room. She glanced up for a moment from pouring her tea.

"Good afternoon, Darien."

"Good afternoon, Dorothy. How are you?"

"Oh, my old bones are a bit achy today, but I'm doing just fine. What's that you got in your hands there?"

Darien smiled down on the red rose carefully protected in his fingers' grasp.

"Ah, another one of your flowers I see. It's a pretty one too. I just can't see HOW you manage to grow those things this time of year."

The boy smiled, walking further into the room and dropping the bud into a clear glass, filling it up with water before setting it down on the windowsill.

"Oh, no, no, bring that over here now. We'll set it right dab in the middle of the tea table… it will give us something to focus on, now won't it? You do know how I love fresh flowers on a table."

Doing as he was told, Darien set the flower down on the table before pulling out one of the oak chairs and assisting the older women into it.

"There you go, Miss Smith."

"Why thank you, Darien. One of these days you'll grow to be a perfect gentleman, and I'll be proud to say, 'I taught that there boy!'"

The boy laughed and claimed a chair opposite her to begin his tea.

Dorothy Smith had a kind face with dull gray hair, pulled into a tight bun more often than not. Beneath the wrinkled, rose tinted skin were too glowing green eyes, sparkling with life. Her voice was soft and kind, always gentle, and never strict. You could not imagine her yelling a word all her life, though she enjoyed telling stories of when she was a troublemaker as a child. She was short and stubby, 'pleasantly plump' as she called it, with worn, tired hands, and multiple chins. Though not a sight to look at… no one could ever deny that Dorothy Smith could SMILE! Her eyes would light up and whole face beam into a cheery pink. A jolly laugh would usually follow, rumbling the nearby walls into happiness.

Darien drank at the tea slowly, enjoying the warm liquid floating down his tongue. He never enjoyed being rushed through tea time, his favorite hour of the day. He often thought he had picked that trait up from Dorothy years before.

"So, has the day been good to you?" asked the old woman, finishing off her first drink and pouring herself another cup.

Darien sighed, staring at the rose. "I found an empty corner in the garden today. I believe it was once used for supplies or the likes, but after the shed they built last summer, it's only a patch of dirt now. I was going to ask you if I could plant on it."

"Oh yes, yes of course you can Darien. Do whatever you like. You do know how I enjoy your flowers!"

Darien smiled, his eyes glazing over the single red rose in the center of the table. He had picked that one from his favorite bush just this morning. At the time it had been covered in shining beads of dew, though now only the velvety red remained. Still, it was stunningly beautiful. He let himself be proud.

"Did you talk to any of the other children today?" asked Dorothy, sipping at her tea.

Darien looked up slightly, reminiscing over the past hours. Slowly, he stated, "That new girl talked to me again. I think she wanted me to say something about that new hat she bought for herself the last outing."

"And did you?"

Darien blushed slightly. "I didn't much like the hat…"

Dorothy 'tsked' him quietly. "Darien, you will never earn the admiration of a girl if you don't learn to say the right things."

Darien looked down shyly. "Well… I don't want the admiration of a girl. All they do is gossip and laugh at everything I say. Even the older ones are like that… I don't understand them at all!"

Dorothy laughed, that grand, heart-lifting laugh, which made Darien look up at her with a smile on his own face, though he didn't quite understand what was so funny. Finally, she quieted, small tears glistening at the corners of her ivy-green eyes.

"You know, someday you will find a girl whose admiration you will want very much. And THEN what will you do?"

Darien blushed. "Then I will comment nicely on her hat!" 

... 

Darien woke slowly, his eyes opening to stare blankly at the ceiling above. The dream had been so familiar…

'Of course it was… baka!'

Taking a deep breath, he stood from his bed, running a hand through his black hair. He glanced at the clock.

'6:30. Half hour until I have to get up, anyway, might as well stay awake.'

Walking into the kitchen, he started himself a pot of coffee before walking out onto his balcony. The first rays of sunlight were just beginning to gleam out on the horizon, the morning sky being painted with pastel hues of pinks and oranges…

With a small smile on his face, Darien closed his eyes. 'Dorothy Smith. I haven't thought of you forever… I wonder how you are these days…' The dream brought back both welcome and haunting memories. He could still hear her laughter filling this room as it had the small office at the end of the last hall at the orphanage. Where they had drunk tea together for hours on end… Talking of nothing and everything… He smiled in remembrance of those times. How he had looked forward to them. He knew that during his early years, he was only ever truly happy in that small office, with his only friend at the time, or working away in the gardens beyond the gate. She always seemed to be the light of the day. And she was the only female he could ever remember keeping a decent conversation with. All those close to his age were quite used to fawning and giggling over him. He smiled ironically. 'Not much has changed after all these years. Why did I think girls would someday get some decent heads on their shoulders? Not one has ever argued with me…'He opened his eyes with a smile. 'Except Meatball Head.'

"But Serena's different," he pointed out to himself aloud. With another sigh, he shook his head, ridding his mind of the thought. He'd been finding it harder and harder to keep her off his mind lately. Part of him wondered why. The other part already knew the answer.

Turning, he left back into his apartment, downing a cup of coffee before preparing for his morning jog, where he hoped to bump into a certain someone on her way to school.

... 

WHACK!

"Aaaaaaahh! Oh, I'm so, so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going…"

And bump into her, he did.

"Jeez, watch where you're going, Meatball Head!"

Serena looked up from her bowed position to come face to face with two deep, blue eyes staring down on her coolly. Her remorseful expression soon turned to one of anger as she picked herself up from her current position on the sidewalk.

"Oh, it's YOU. Well then, I take it back, I'm not sorry after all."

Darien forced back a chuckle. Already, it was proving to be a promising day. "On your way to school? You're gonna be…"

"Oh NO! I'm gonna be LATE! Ooh, Miss Haruna is gonna kill me for SURE this time! Thanks a LOT, Darien!" And with those rushed words, Serena breezed past him.

"Hey, do you want a ride?" he called in a small attempt to be nice. She froze, half way down the block already, and turned to him.

"From YOU!" she yelled. "Not in this lifetime!"

"Don't say I didn't offer to help!"

She stuck her tongue out at him childishly before turning on her heels and running like the dickens. Darien chuckled. Man, was she different…

...

He sighed, setting his groceries down on the counter and rubbing a hand through his black hair. "Beautiful day…" he thought, looking outside his window. He'd spent most of it outside, walking aimlessly through the park or window shopping down the main streets. He'd stopped in at the arcade an hour ago to talk with Andrew before hitting the store and picking up some food to fill his cupboards.

He checked the clock. "It's only 2:30? Seems like it should be six already. Oh well, if I can get this food put away, I'll have time to go see Serena again." With that motivation and a hopeful smile, Darien began stocking his shelves.

Not long after, he was paused by a phone call. Setting the milk in the refrigerator quickly, he picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Hello, is this Mr. Darien Chiba?"

"Yes, it is. Who am I speaking with?"

"Hello, my name is Jordan Mikoso, I'm with the Kowona Associates Firm. I'm very sorry to inform you of this news, but Miss Dorothy Smith, the owner of The Nguyen Orphanage, passed away last Saturday evening."

Darien stared into space for a moment, the statement not filtering into his mind. He shook his head. "E…excuse me?"

"I'm very sorry for your loss. She died painlessly in her sleep." There was a silence, Darien denying what he had just heard. How… how could Dorothy be… dead…?

"Sir, if you would like someone to talk to, I can set up an appointment with a pastor or counselor…"

"No, no… I'm… fine…"

There was a short pause. "The funeral will be held tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. at St. Claire's church just down the street from the orphanage. You are also listed in her will to receive belongings. The reading will be the following day, Wednesday the twenty-first, at 2:00 p.m. in the lobby of the orphanage. Do you need directions to either?"

Darien breathed in deeply, storing the information somewhere in the back of his mind. "No… I'll be… okay…"

"Again, I am very sorry for your loss."

Darien nodded, forgetting the man could not see him. "Th… thank you."

"Of course. Good day."

"Bye."

With a click, Darien hung up the phone, staring at the receiver for a moment. Inhaling a shaky breath, Darien fell back against the counter. 'Miss Dorothy Smith passed away last Saturday evening…'

Shaking his head, Darien grabbed his jacket and left his apartment in a hurry. 

... 

Serena skipped happily over the wooden bridge crossing the small stream in the park. With a wide smile, she stopped in the middle, leaning over the edge to look down on her reflection smiling back at her.

It had been a good day, with the exception of a 20 minute detention due to tardiness. The good side of that, though, was that now she had a reason to talk to Darien… in order to blame him for making her late. It wasn't his fault, really, she would have been late either way… she knew that perfectly well. But now… she could provoke him into calling her Meatball Head again.

She sighed leaning out over the railing further, watching a school of fish disappear from view. It was stupid, she knew. Both the nickname and the fact that she enjoyed it. Yes, she yelled and screamed when he called her that… but inside, she might as well have been jumping for joy. Because it came from that wonderful, incredible man…

Giggling, she moved her face to the sky. She didn't know exactly when she had started feeling that way. She knew that in the beginning, she had her head screwed on the right way… but it didn't take long for him to get under her skin, with his striking blue eyes and silky black hair. The way he spoke, laughed, smiled… His intelligence, something she admired in anyone who had it, and of course, he could rival Ami in that category. His huge heart, she'd seen that in the way he talked to Andrew and Raye. In fact, every little thing about him simply drove her crazy…

Suddenly, her eyes caught on something… or someone, sitting on the bank of the small river. "Darien?"

...

He threw another rock into the stream, watching small rings and ripples of water spread out from it. His mind wandered through years of memories… his heart drifted in loneliness. He hadn't felt really lonely for years, but now… everything seemed to fade in an instant. He sighed, pulling his knees to his chest and settling his chin on them. He hadn't yet given in to the force of tears threatening the backs of his eyes.

"You know," said a slightly angry voice suddenly beside him, "I got stuck with 20 minutes of detention because of you."

He looked to his right just as Serena plopped down beside him. At first he was shocked that she was even talking to him, but then his brain translated what she had said and he no longer found it too strange. With a small, forced grin, he turned to look out at the stream again. "Oh? I'm sorry, Serena."

Serena furrowed her brow, slowly turning to him. He wasn't looking at her, but staring again at the small creek. Had he just said… he's sorry?

"Since when do you apologize? And WHAT did you call me!"

Darien turned to look at her again, his eyes making mental notes of that adorable school outfit, her legs buried beneath the skirt, and the golden hair pooling on the ground beside her. He checked his sentence again to make sure he hadn't just called her a pet name or something. 'Oh? I'm sorry, Serena.' Nope, nothing. So what was wrong with that?

"Um… since I was sorry… and… your name IS Serena… remember?"

She looked at him for a second before throwing a hand to his forehead. He jumped back a little surprised.

"It doesn't… feel like you're running a fever… Okay, who are you and what did you do with my Darien?"

He smiled slightly as she pulled her hand away. Had she just called him… her Darien?

"I'm just not in the mood for fun and games today, Meatball Head."

She sighed. 'That's more like it!'

Darien leaned back. Lying down on the grassy floor and staring up at the sky. She watched him silently, her eyes drifting over every perfect feature. Finally, she followed suit, falling back on the grass as well, resting her head on her hands.

"Then I guess we might actually get along for a bit."

Darien looked at her from the corner of his eye. Part of him was happy she had decided not to leave him, while the other wanted to be alone. In the end, he only smiled a tiny grin and returned his gaze to the cloud-dotted blue sky.

After a while of silence, Serena turned to see him staring up at the sky. His lips were set in a straight line, not frowning, not smiling… not talking, which was unusual when she was around. She'd never been around him for this long at one time… generally she'd either scampered off, or he'd left casually after teasing her to his delight. Her delight too, though he didn't know THAT.

His black bangs were falling messily over his piercing eyes. Something about the gaze in those eyes scared her… made her slightly nervous. They looked… sad… secretive. Then… she saw a small, almost invisible sparkle at the corner of his eye. He quickly blinked it away, too late. He was crying…

"Darien, what's wrong?" Her voice was small and broken, shock and worry etched into her sweet words.

He looked at her surprised. She was still lying less than a foot away from him, now propped up on one elbow, looking down on him sadly. He gulped, turning away. There was no doubt in his mind that those gorgeous blue eyes could see straight into his soul with so much as a glance.

Finally, he choked out, "I don't want to talk about it, Meatball Head."

At first she was surprised at the distant sound in his voice, then angry at his words. She knew it was crazy, that he didn't have to tell her anything he didn't want to… but she still felt hurt that he couldn't tell her whatever it was that had hurt him so.

'Did you have a fight with a friend? Problems with school… work? Was it a girl? I wonder if he just had his heart broken… oh Darien…' between the pity and jealousy filtering with that thought, she somehow knew it hadn't been a girl. Maybe all of the hope that it hadn't been simply stole the thought away. But, despite what had pained him so… she knew full well that she didn't like seeing him this way. She would almost rather have him teasing or humiliating her.

With a confused frown and sigh, she laid back down on the grass again.

Another long minute passed with silence held between the two. Darien battled with the many choices he had… all seeming inviting in their own ways. He didn't know whether to tell her everything, get this off his shoulders and maybe receive a hug in the process, leave quietly while he was still sane before breaking down and either crying or kissing her. 'Which isn't too bad an idea either…' his mind substituted before throwing the idea out the window it had come through. Or simply lay there and be content knowing Serena was with him during this time… though she didn't realize how extremely comforting that was to him. He chose option C.

Out of nowhere, Darien heard a soft giggling from the girl. Turning, he saw that she was looking up at the sky.

"What?"

"That cloud! It looks like an ice cream cone! Heh heh…"

"Where?" he looked up at the sky, but saw nothing in the slightest resembling a delightful treat. Then again… Serena DID have a better imagination than he did.

"That one over there!" she began pointing at some distant point in the sky. He squinted his eyes carefully.

"I don't see it, Meatball Head."

She sighed, rolling her eyes and moving closer to him so that the lengths of their bodies touched. Taking his right hand into hers, she brought it up to point at the sky. "It's right THERE!"

Darien looked harder, trying to concentrate on the sky and not her delicate body so close to him, or her small hand holding onto his own. "Oh… you mean the one with the little round thing on top…"

"And the point on the bottom, yeah, that one!" Darien tilted his head closer to hers.

"I dunno… looks kind of like a pair of scissors to me…"

Serena then tilted HER head closer to his. "Yeah… I can see that too."

"Oh, and over there," exclaimed Darien, moving their hands to point at another distant point off in the sky. "That one looks kind of like a couch, doncha think?"

Serena looked for a minute, before bursting out laughing. "Hey, you're right, it does! Ooh, and doesn't the one over there look like a rabbit?" Darien chuckled along with her, searching over the blue sky. "Oh, wait… it's changing… now… hey, it looks like Ms. Haruna! Ha ha, wow, does she look mad! Her hair is standing on edge! Heh heh…"

Darien grinned as he turned his head to look at this bright angel by his side. She continued to chatter about homework and ice cream and clouds for a minute, simply staring off into the Heavens. He began to wonder if this was one of the worst days of his life… or the best.

Serena noticed that Darien was no longer talking. She ceased her ranting to look over at him. He had his eyes glued to hers, his gaze not shifting even after she turned to stare back at him. For the first time, she realized that when she had moved closer to him, she had ended up resting on his arm, and it only tightened around her as they stared into each other's blue eyes. Taking a deep breath, Darien shifted to his side to look down on her, propping his free hand gently on her stomach. She could feel her insides begin to churn inside.

"Thank you," he whispered.

She gawked at him for a minute, before replying, "What for?"

His serious gaze melted with a small, almost unnoticeable twist of the lips. "For making me smile. I needed that."

Serena then remembered how sad he had looked earlier, so alone… depressed… She smiled back up at him, worry keeping it from reaching her eyes.

Shakily, she reached up to brush some bangs from his eyes. He began to back away from the intimate touch at first, but froze. "Darien… why are you so sad today? Can't you tell me… please?"

He stared down on her, slightly surprised, slightly nervous… very in love. With slow, steady movements, he pushed himself away, falling back again. Serena looked over at him before resuming the position he had taken earlier, balancing on her elbow, staring down on him patiently. Darien inhaled, closing his eyes. Piercing his lips together, he searched silently for the words.

"A very close friend of mine… died last Saturday. I just found out an hour ago."

A silence commenced again. Serena wasn't sure if what she had heard… 'Someone died? A close friend… Oh, Darien…'

"I guess… it was her time to go… but God, I'm going to miss her. She was the only person I could ever talk to as a kid. The only friend I ever had until I met Andrew. And now… now she's gone. And I didn't even get to say… good bye…"

Serena's lip quivered as she looked down on Darien. She gasped as a tear escaped from one closed eyelid. His arm tightened around her waist, his fingers clutching at the soft material of her shirt. Before allowing him time to brush the tear away, she threw herself onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in the collar of his jacket.

"Oh, Darien… I'm so sorry, Darien… I didn't know…"

He opened his eyes, blurred and wet, to look up at the sky. Shakily, he pulled his other arm around her, no longer fighting the tears. His walls of pain cracked and he closed his eyes again, squeezing them together as tight as he squeezed the girl in his arms.

Serena said and did nothing as she felt the always strong, always carefree man break into uncontrolled sobs in her embrace.

... 

Neither knew how long they'd been lying there. Still, motionless. Darien's hold on her had loosened somewhat and she could no longer feel him shaking and crying beneath her, but otherwise, they hadn't moved.

Darien sighed, unconsciously kissing her forehead lightly. She stirred and looked up at him with slightly drowsy, very melancholy blue eyes. He gulped and forced a smile to prove he was okay. She tried to smile back, but failed. She could still see the depths of sadness lingering in his taunting eyes. Finally, she broke the silence.

"Darien… are you going to be okay? Is there anything I can do?"

His smile softened just a bit and he shook his head slowly. "No. Thanks, though, Meatball Head."

She frowned. "Are you sure? I mean… if you want, I could… keep you company for a little while or… make you dinner or something… I'm not a really very good cook, but I can try, and…"

He kissed her forehead again, silencing her to look down on him once more. "Really, I'll be fine. I'm okay, see?" He shrugged his shoulders and forced the smile brighter. She remained unconvinced.

"Darien… I only want to help you."

He sighed. "I know. And you don't know what that means to me, but you have things to do, I'm sure. And I don't want to depress you any more than I already have."

She frowned. "Knowing that you're depressed makes me sad too."

He furrowed his brow, tilting his head slightly. Choosing not to investigate what that meant, he turned away, once again staring up at the sky. It was already darkening and he began to seriously ponder how long they had been out here.

"I'm… scared though."

"Why is that? What are you scared of?" Serena whispered.

He inhaled. "The funeral is tomorrow. It's at the old church we would go to on Sundays… right next to the orphanage. I don't think I can go back there… not alone again. I can't be alone anymore…" his sentences faded away as he slammed his eyes shut. He refused to let the tears flood his eyes again, but the haunting memories burrowed into his mind.

"Orphanage?"

His eyes opened quickly again. He looked up at her. She looked confused and sad, a desire to help him burning in her azure gaze.

Taking a deep breath, he began to tell her of the car crash, the amnesia, the orphanage, the roses, and Dorothy Smith. She sat in silence, listening as he spilled the tale of the most horrible years of his life. And how only one thing had kept them bearable. One person… who was no longer alive. Who would never be there for him again. She bit her lip in pain when he told her that, had Dorothy not been there to love him and take care of him, he doubted he would have been able to stay sane, maybe even would have committed suicide long before. She listened patiently as he referred to the peers that would tease him for being different, make fun of him for always working in the gardens. She did not feel the tears streaming down her cheeks when he told her about the tea times, the jokes he and Dorothy had shared, and the constant loneliness he had felt whenever he wasn't with her.

At the end of his tale, yet another silence draped over the two. It wasn't awkward, though. Instead, they each felt content, comfortable. Slowly, Serena lay her head down on his chest, letting his heartbeat filter through her mind. She curled her body against his, staring blankly at the evening dusk sky.

Darien smiled. Next to Andrew, she was the only person he had ever told about the orphanage, and he hadn't even told Andrew everything he had just spilled to this angel. With one arm casually wrapped around her waist, the other began to stroke down one long ponytail, and gently over her back. This was comfortable, pleasant to them both. After awhile, she began to speak again.

"You have to go to the funeral."

Raising an eyebrow, he looked down on her, but could only see the gold mat on top of her head. He cleared his throat. "I don't think I can, Serena."

"But you have to. She was so important to you, and this could be the last chance you ever have to say goodbye to her. You'll regret it if you don't."

"But Serena, I…"

"I'll go with you. If you're afraid of going alone and seeing all those kids from before, then I'll go with you."

He chuckled slightly. "Don't be silly, Meatball Head. Thanks for the offer, but you've got school, remember? The funeral is at eleven."

She rolled her eyes. "Nothing important is happening tomorrow. And my mom won't mind when I tell her the reason. Darien, you're much more important to me… and I think you should go."

Darien gulped. "I'm… important to you?"

She looked up surprised, smiling up at him through thick eyelashes. "Why do you think I'm here right now? Yes, you're important to me." She turned away slightly. "I care about you, and I want you to be happy…"

He blinked a couple times before a smile dawned on his face. Without warning, he threw his arms around her, hugging her to him fiercely. She squealed in surprise. After his grip had loosened somewhat, she looked back into his cheerful eyes.

"Serena, you have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that. Thank you."

She smiled back carefully. "Well… you're welcome… I guess. So… you'll pick me up around 10:30, then?"

Darien's smile faded and his head fell back on the grass. "Serena, I don't know…"

"I'll tell my mom about it, I'm sure it will be fine! Please Darien, I'd never be able to concentrate in school anyway, if I knew what you were dealing with. I'll be really good, please? I only want to help…"

He sighed, closing his eyes.

"10:00."

"Huh?"

"I'll pick you up at 10:00. But you have to make sure this is okay with your parents and everything."

"Oh, no problem." She hugged him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He returned the favor, nuzzling his head in her golden bangs.

"Thank you, Serena," he whispered. She backed away to look into his eyes. "I don't think you'll ever know how much I needed you today."

She stared at him quietly before a bright smile dawned on her face. "I'm glad I could make you happy."

They stared at each other for a moment before Darien managed to tear his gaze away and look up at the quickly darkening sky. "You should get home. I'm sure your parents are worried about you."

She sighed. "Yeah… will you be okay?"

He smiled up at her again. "I'll be fine."

They stood silently and after Serena had dug through her book bag to find a pen and paper, she handed him her address and number. "If you need anything, you can always call…"

He placed the paper in his pocket. "Thanks, Meatball Head. I'll see you tomorrow." With a loving grin, he kissed her forehead lightly before turning and making his way down the dirt pathway.

Serena watched him go, wanting to smile and cry at the same time. With curved lips and glossy eyes, she made her way back home. 


	2. Chapter 2

Saying Goodbye to Dorothy Smith - Chapter 2  
Alicia Blade 

Edit: I don't know what all the question marks are about. I tweaked the coding a bit. Hope that fixes it... 

I know, I am totally slacking on this story. So this is me making it up to you with two chapters, back to back, AND two more drabbles heading your way. Sorry it's taken so long. 

Hope you're enjoying! Again, I'm too crazy-busy to edit this (and, I'll admit, sick of editing stuff this week) so no fine-tooth combs, please. ) 

Enjoy! 

Saying Goodbye to Dorothy Smith  
Chapter Two 

"I had a dream last night. . ." said a young Darien dazedly, gazing unseeing into his half-full teacup. The elderly woman looked up at him.

"Oh? What about?"

Darien furrowed his brow a little. "I'm. . . not sure. . . There was a girl. . . no, a princess. . . standing on the balcony of a huge castle. I couldn't see her very well, but I just know that she was extremely beautiful. She had. . . golden hair that came down to her knees and she wore a white ball gown with red roses in her hair. . ."

Dorothy leaned back, gazing at the ceiling. "Sounds like quite the vision."

Darien nodded, never removing his gaze from the mug.

"Was there anything else about this dream of yours?"

"Yeah. . . she. . . she told me to bring her something called the silver imperium crystal. . . Have you ever heard of such a thing?"

Dorothy laughed slightly, not her full, wall-shaking chuckle, but a joyful sound all the same. "Well, I can't say that I have. Silver imperium crystal, eh? Hm. . . sure sounds royal. I'm sure whatever it is, I'd like to have it for myself!" She laughed again, louder this time.

Darien smiled slightly for the first time since he'd sat down for his tea. "Yes. . ." was all he said, the serious words echoing soundly in his head.

Dorothy smiled across the table. He didn't seem to latch onto her joke much. With a sly grin, she leaned forward across the table and whispered, "And just what do you make of this dream of yours?"

The boy looked up at her. Her sudden seriousness brought another grin to his face. "I'm not sure. Strange as it may seem, I think I know this girl. Or at least. . . I think I will know this girl."

She raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well, you know, I have a strong belief in signs from the angels above. Perhaps, this is one. And now you just have to figure out exactly what it is they're trying to tell you."

Darien sighed, leaning back against his chair, taking a small sip before setting the cup down on the saucer. "But what could it mean?"

Ms. Smith smiled. "Well, let's see. . . other than the castle, what was the environment like?"

"Foggy. That's why I couldn't see her too well. It was chilly too, very eerie and. . . sad."

"Sad, you say? Hm. . . and what about you? Was there anything different about you in the dream?"

He looked up surprised. "Now that you mention it. . ." His eyes closed as he brought back memories of the past dream. "I was. . . older. I think around. . . twenty or so. And. . . I think I was wearing a tuxedo. . ."

"A tuxedo? So, you were dressed up nice then."

He nodded.

Dorothy smiled, leaning back in her chair, her green eyes looking up at the ceiling. "Well, I think I've just about got this dream of yours figured out."

Darien raised his eyebrow, curiosity and hope peaked in excitement. "What do you think it was, Dorothy?"

She smiled, taking a long drink of her tea. "I think the princess was your true love. Soul mate, if you will."

Darien furrowed his eyebrow a little, still at the stage in life where girls weren't exactly his top priority. She continued.

"I think you two will be brought together under solemn arrangements. Sad and possibly 'eerie' conditions. And then, you will bring her a valuable gift. Possibly a jewel or gem of some sort. . . which could very well be the meaning of this silver imperium crystal. . ."

Dorothy eyes glazed over seriously, lost in thought and admiration. Darien stared in awe, wondering if what she said was true. Suddenly, Dorothy set her teacup down.

"I'm sorry. I must have lost my train of thought a little back there. What is it we were talking of? Oh, never mind, look at the time dear child! It's nearly supper already! Go wash up and put on a clean shirt, working in the dirt all day has claimed you a right good mess! Go on dear, run along! I'll see you in a few moments now. Tea was a delight, as usual!"

...

Darien splashed cold water onto his face, gasping with his eyes closed as his face hung gingerly above the ceramic sink. Opening his eyes, he turned off the running water before grabbing a towel to dry his skin and hair. He looked up to the mirror.

He hadn't slept well the night before, for obvious reasons. And when he had, more memories of Dorothy Smith had invaded his dreams. For the second night in a row, he hadn't even dreamt of the princess.

Running a hand through his slightly damp hair, he walked out to his bedroom, throwing on a crisp white shirt to match his black slacks. It was 9:30 already. It felt strange having not left the house yet. He'd deserted his morning jog, his daily visit with Andrew, and hadn't yet run into Serena. Of course, things were very different today.

He began working a black and gray tie through his collar, tying it neatly. He was actually quite worried about seeing Serena. He had no idea what things would be like. If they would be awkward and uncomfortable, or relaxing and. . . right, like yesterday. And would she be wearing black?

He knew perfectly well that wearing black to a funeral was a sign of mourning and respect. But still. . . seeing his bright, caring, loving, always happy Meatball Head in dreary colors from head to toe made him shiver inside. It would be so odd. So. . . false, not her. He didn't want to see it. He wasn't sure he could bear it, really. 

...

Serena slipped on the black slipper, looking at her appearance in the full-length mirror. She was wearing a black dress she'd borrowed from her mom. It had been a little big, but with slight alterations with hidden safety pins and clips, it fit like a glove. It had a velvet bodice with a layered chiffon skirt that came down to above the knee. Her sleeves were made of a flowing, opaque black sheer. Stockings and flat heels completed the look.

She hated dressing in black, really. It wasn't her. She stayed away from anything in the dark colors as much as possible.

'When I die, I'm gonna make sure to put in my will that no one is to wear black to the funeral!'

The phone rang and soon her mom called up that it was for her. Sighing, she picked up the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Serena?" said a deep voice on the other line.

"Darien?" she replied, unconsciously straightening her posture.

"Yeah, hi."

"What's wrong? Are you okay? Is everything alright?" she prodded apprehensively. He sounded. . . nervous.

She was relieved when he chuckled slightly. "Everything's fine, Meatball Head. But. . . I need to ask you a favor."

"Sure, anything."

There was a pause. "This might sound kind of strange, but. . . do you think you could. . . not wear black?"

Serena digested what he had said. "N. . . not wear. . . black?"

"I know it's an odd request, saying it is a funeral and all, but. . . I don't know. It would just be so weird seeing you in black. I don't think. . . I could handle that. Please, Serena? It would mean a lot to me."

She looked over at her reflection in the mirror. "Sure, Darien, if that's what you want."

His voice lightened with relief. "Thanks, Serena. So. . . I'll see you in a little bit?"

"Yup!"

"Okay. . . um, bye."

"Bye."

Serena hung up the phone, chewing her lips silently. Glancing at herself again, she sighed and closed the door before tearing off the black dress.

... 

He fidgeted with the hem of his blazer for a moment before raising his eyes to the door. Raising his hand, he knocked steadily. Only minutes after, a woman answered the door.

"Hello, you must be Darien. I'm Ilene, Serena's mother. Please, come in. Serena will be down shortly."

Smiling, he walked in nervously. "Thank you, Mrs. Tsukino."

"Please, just Ilene. I am very sorry for your loss."

Forcing a wary smile, he slipped his hands into their pockets. "Yes. . . um, I want to thank you for letting Serena come to the funeral with me. I feel awful that she has to miss school and. . ."

"Oh, don't worry about it, she can get caught up easily. Besides, she has such a big and giving heart, I doubt I could have made her go to school if I'd tried. But honestly, I'm glad she's decided to help you through this tough time."

"Me too. . . I don't know what I would do without her."

"Alright, I'm ready to go."

At the sound of her voice, his eyes began to drift up the stairs as a grateful and loving smile crossed his sad features.

Serena had finally come to the decision of a pale yellow sundress with blue and white roses. Her black dress shoes had been traded for a pair of leather sandals with white nylons. Her hair was in the normal style with white roses wrapped around the buns and simple gold jewelry had been chosen to accessorize the outfit.

"Shall we go?" asked Darien after his eyes had swept completely over her. Nodding, she walked quickly down the stairs, gave her mom a hug, before threading her arm nervously through Darien's. For a moment he was startled by the action, but looking down on her, he could tell easily that she was very scared at the awkwardness of the situation. After saying their good-byes and thank you's, Darien led Serena out the door and down the pathway. On the driveway, he reached over and squeezed her hand gently.

"Thank you. . . for not wearing black. And. . . for coming with me, Serena."

A tender smile crossing her lips, she glanced up at him. "I'm glad I'm here with you."

Releasing her, Darien opened her car door before getting in the driver's seat, and they drove off silently.

... 

Serena hadn't realized how long the drive to the church would be as they reached the outskirts of town, and then found their way into a country setting with large fields bordering the main road. Soon, they came to another small town and Darien turned off the highway. A few minutes later, she saw him slow down as they passed by a large building. Looking over at him, she saw that he was staring at it, a deep sadness echoing in his eyes.

"What's that?" she asked uncertainly. He sighed, returning his eyes to the street again.

"The orphanage," he mumbled. Another block down the road, they pulled into the driveway of a large cathedral-like church. Darien undid his seatbelt, but made no move to get out of the car, only continued staring at a tall building with beautiful colored windows before them. Serena stared at him for awhile, before reaching out and taking his hand. "I don't think I can do this. . ." he finally whispered, and she could see tears welling up at the corners of his blue eyes.

"Oh, Darien. . . You can do this. I'm right here. I'll be by your side the whole time. If ever you need a shoulder to cry on or. . . or if you want to leave early, we can. . ."

"I want to leave now," he said, and she tilted her head to the side.

"Dorothy would want you to come. You know you have to do this."

Closing his eyes, Darien turned his head away, his grip tightening around her fingers. As a lonely tear streaked down his cheek, he finally looked over at her.

"Thank you."

With a gentle smile, she opened her door and stepped out. Darien reached into the backseat of the car, taking out a bouquet of perfect red roses he had gotten that morning, before getting out of the car as well.

They filed into the church along with a number of other people, of all ages.

"Do you know any of these people?" whispered Serena quietly as they made their way through the crowd. She didn't fail to notice the many strange looks directed at him from others. A lot of curious frowns and squinting eyes, as if they didn't believe what they saw. Darien looked around, noticing quite a few people his age that he remembered from years ago. Turning back to Serena, he nodded.

"A lot of them are kids from the orphanage."

"Oh. . . I see. . ."

"Darien?" called a voice. They turned to see a lady of about twenty walking over to them. Her red hair was pulled up behind her head, and she wore a short black dress, a black scarf tied neatly around her waist.

Serena heard Darien groan, before forcing a smile and holding out his hand. "Rebekah, so nice to see you."

"Oh, my, it IS you! I wasn't sure at first. But I could recognize those cool blue eyes of yours anywhere. How have you been doing?"

"Alright, I guess. I have a nice place up in Tokyo."

"Oh, good, good! Me? Oh, I found a cute little house over in. . ."

"Darien Chiba, my goodness, is it really you?" asked another girl, coming up from the other side of Serena. She had short brown hair bouncing lightly around her face and wore a cute, body hugging black dress down to her knees, along with a pair of black wrist gloves. Darien turned his attention to her, furrowing his brow slightly. Confusion entered his eyes and the new girl laughed.

"It's me, Kate Rydell, don't you remember?"

"Oh, yes, Kate, how are you?"

"Just great! Well, other than the awful news, of course." Leaning forward, she kissed his cheek gently. "I should have known I would see you here. You were always Dorothy's favorite after all. Oh, did you hear about. . . oh, wait is that. . . Oh, Rayea, over here!" Looking over Darien's shoulder, she began waving frantically to another young woman who had just entered. Serena watched the girl with almost black hair come walking over to them, also dressed all in black. She was beginning to feel a bit like an outcast.

"Rayea, look, it's Darien Chiba! You remember, the heart throb of all the girls at the orphanage!"

Rayea looked over at him and he blushed slightly, trying desperately to gain his composure, as well as searching for a way out of this conversation.

"Oh my," said Rayea, "You sure did become handsome!" she flirted.

"Uh. . ." he choked out. Serena reached out and grabbed onto his arm, suddenly feeling a touch of possessiveness wash over her. All these women were hovering around him like he was the last piece of chocolate cake at a birthday party!

Darien gasped, looking down on the blonde girl in the pale yellow dress, and smiled. He'd almost forgotten about her.

"I would like you all to meet Serena Tsukino. Serena, this is Rayea, Kate, and Rebekah. They lived at the orphanage with me."

"It's a pleasure," said Serena softly, not daring to let go of his arm to shake their hands. It didn't seem to matter either as they all simply stared at her. Obviously, none of them had noticed beforehand that Darien was with a girl.

Clearing her throat, Kate smiled. "Likewise. Well, it was nice running into you, Darien. I hope we can get together sometime. I think we're going to go claim a seat, now. . ." With that, all three of them shyly and dejectedly walked away into the adjoining room.

Darien sighed, closing his eyes. "I forgot how awful they could get. Like vultures. . ."

"They did that when you were kids too?"

He nodded, turning to look down on her. "But then I didn't have a gorgeous girl hanging off my arm to save me from them."

Serena blushed, turning away. "I think we should go get seated too."

Darien noticed that most of the crowd had already filtered into the next room, and he nodded his head. "Good idea."

Threading their fingers together, they walked into a room filled with flowers and benches. Up at the front was a small stage with a podium and large casket, covered in flowers. Darien froze mid-aisle when he saw it and Serena could feel his pain tugging at her heart. Suddenly, everything was becoming painfully real for him.

"Come on, let's sit down," she whispered, pulling him into a row of benches. He sat down beside her, his hand tightening around hers. After everyone had claimed their seats, the ceremony began, with a priest giving a few words of comfort. Serena bit her lip, listening sadly to the sobs and cries from throughout the audience. Gulping, she leaned onto Darien's shoulder. He looked down on her, tears threatening to fall again. Then, slowly, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, kissing the top of her head. She sighed, snuggling deeper into his warmth.

As he held her, the sadness seemed to wash away.

Next, a few friends and family of Dorothy stood and made a speech about her. Some made the audience laugh. Others simply made them cry more than they already were. The words all brought memories flooding back to Darien, things he hadn't thought about for years.

The way she smelled. The dreamy look she would get in her eye when talking about her deceased husband. Her way of scolding, without yelling, that would make you feel guiltier than any other form of punishment ever could have. The way her eyes and spirit never aged a day past twenty. And everyone who spoke mentioned her laugh that would echo in all their hearts for the rest of their lives.

Darien pursed his lips together, leaning his head on Serena as tears finally pushed their way down his cheeks. Serena stroked his arm gently. She could feel him shaking gently as hidden sobs racked his body. He pulled her tighter, kissing her head again.

Finally, everyone was given permission to come up to the front and say his or her last good-byes to a dear friend.

The crowded room once again turned into small talk, gossip, memories, and hugs. Darien and Serena sat there and held each other while the rest filed up to the coffin, or left outside. Darien showered her hair and forehead with kisses, and she knew it was more to comfort himself than anything else. But for some reason, that didn't bother her in the least.

A good half our later, the room was almost entirely deserted as she continued to comfort him. Finally, she looked up into his eyes. He had them closed, but opened them when he felt her shift. They stared at each other for a minute before she managed to force a smile.

"Do you want to say goodbye?" she whispered. He gulped, looking away at some point on the floor. Soon, he raised his eyes to the casket.

Chewing on his lip, he slowly nodded. After another moment's hesitation, he stood, never releasing her hand. Turning, he pulled her to her feet as well. "Please come with me."

Serena followed Darien up the aisle to the front of the room. Darien seemed to slow down with every step closer. Finally, they reached the small stage at the front. Stepping onto the platform, Darien inhaled a sharp breath, tears once again soaking down his skin. Serena gave his hand a brief squeeze and led him closer to the open casket.

Dorothy's gray hair had been pulled into a bun, like she had usually worn it in life. Her skin was pale, all rosiness swept away with death. She had been dressed in her nicest church dress, a pale green with a light blue flowers calico print.

Shakily, Darien placed the bouquet of roses into the coffin. "I brought you these," he whispered. "I. . . always knew they were your favorite." He paused for a moment as tears continued to roll unconsciously down his face. "Uh. . . Dorothy, I want you to meet Serena Tsukino. She. . . she's a very sweet girl. I wish you could have met her," his voice dried as he choked on the words, staring into the face of his best friend, his only friend for a long while.

Serena couldn't help but to smile a little, though tears she had been trying to hide, as to remain strong for him, were now forcing their way to her pale blue eyes.

Darien stared at the old woman for a minute more, before turning to Serena. "I know I asked you to come with me. . . but. . . do you think you could give us a moment alone?"

She smiled and nodded her head. "I'll be right over there if you need me. . ." she whispered, before turning and walking over to sit down on one of the benches.

Turning his attention back to the first friend he had ever made in his life, Darien searched for any words to say to her. "That's her," he finally whispered. "The princess I always saw in my dreams. I know it. Oh Dorothy, I do wish you could have met her. You would love her so much. I know I do. I. . . always wished that you would someday come to my wedding, whenever that happened. But. . . I guess it won't happen now, will it?" He took a deep breath, swiping at his eyes in vain. "I have another friend too. His name is Andrew. A great guy, always there for me, like you were. I'm sure you two would have gotten along as so well. I've told him about you, and he always told me that someday I'd have to introduce you two. . . But I guess that won't be happening now, will it?" Choking on the tears as they boiled up inside of him, he dropped his head to his chest. "Oh Dorothy, what will I do without you? You were the only person I could ever completely count on. You. . . you kept me alive over all those years! You gave me hope when I didn't think I had any. Why did we lose touch after I moved? I. . . never even said goodbye to you. . . I'm so sorry, Dorothy. . ." Again rubbing at his eyes, he finally leaned over the coffin and kissed her forehead. "Goodbye, Dorothy. You were the best person I ever knew and the best friend a kid could hope for. I'll miss you."

Turning away, he shakily stepped down the single stair. Serena stood from the bench again. They stared at each other for a minute silently, before she flung herself into his arms, crying softly into his chest. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and let the tears fall into her hair as they came.

...

Darien and Serena stood on the steps to the church, holding each other quietly, looking out over the dusty parking lot as the last of the cars drove off. Darien sighed, kissing her forehead tenderly. She shuddered at the touch, not daring to hope it meant something.

"I suppose I should get you home," Darien finally said, though not making a move to separate from her.

Serena sighed. She didn't want to go home, knowing that then she would have to leave him. So instead, she tried changing the subject. "Had you ever been to this church before?"

After a moment, Darien nodded. "We would come here every Sunday. Dorothy was very religious."

"Oh. . . Darien, I hope you don't mind me asking, but what was the orphanage like?"

He looked down on her curious blue eyes. Wetting his lips, he said, "Would you. . . like to come see it?" he whispered. She was frozen for a minute, before clearing her throat from surprise.

"Oh, you don't have to show me. I know that would hurt you and. . ."

"It won't hurt if you're here. Besides, I have to go there tomorrow either way for the will reading. And. . . it would be easier to face it at first if you were with me."

She nervously raised her eyes to his. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, come on, we'll walk."

Taking her hand, he pulled her away from the church. They strolled down the street for a block, pausing at the large iron gates of the orphanage. Carved into the gates were the words "The Nguyen Orphanage". Taking a deep breath, Darien pushed one side of the gates open and stepped onto the dusty path leading up to the mansion-like building, Serena at his side.

"I haven't stood here for five years. I never imagined I would come back."

Looking at him from the corner of her eye, Serena whispered, "We don't have to do this. . . You know, you don't have to show it to me."

He shook his head, beginning to stroll up the large driveway. "I want you here when I do this."

Finally, they made their way to the front doors. Darien gulped and lifted his hand, knocking the large iron doorknocker. They waited for a few minutes, until the doors opened to reveal a woman of about forty. At first she looked disturbed, but when she saw Darien, her features lit up.

"Darien? Darien Chiba, is that you?"

"Mrs. Otomodachi, it's so nice to see you!"

"Oh, Darien come in! I can't believe it's really you!" she exclaimed, pulling him into a large bear hug. Pulling away, Darien could see that she'd been crying recently.

"Why weren't you at the funeral?" he asked, stepping inside. Serena followed him, looking around the huge lobby as he talked to the woman.

"Oh, someone had to stay and look after the children. They're all out at recess right now. Tell me, how was it? Who all was there?"

"It was fairly nice, though. . . sad."

"Yes, we'll all miss her very much."

Darien sighed, turning back to a stunned Serena as her eyes searched the large walls and antique paintings. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her back to attention.

"Mrs. Otomodachi, I want you to meet Serena Tsukino. Serena, this is the other part owner of the orphanage."

The older woman sighed. "Full owner now. Serena, it's a pleasure to meet you." They shook hands politely.

For the first time, Darien looked around the large room. "Not much has changed. What are all these chairs here for?"

"Oh, we're just setting up for the will reading tomorrow. I suppose you'll be here?"

He nodded, turning his focus back to the acquaintance.

"I should have known. I couldn't imagine Dorothy not leaving her favorite little boy something. You were practically her son!"

A grin pulling at his lips, Darien nodded. "Actually, I brought Serena here so that she could look around a little. Would that be alright?"

"Yes, of course, go ahead! You know your way around. And don't worry about running into the children, they're all out in the yard. Oh! Remind me before you go to introduce you to Kevin Saotomai. He's a little boy who came here about a year ago. He reminds me of you when you were a kid."

Smiling, Darien said that he would, before leading Serena around the crowd of chairs and over to a large staircase, dragging her slowly into his past.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Saying Goodbye to Dorothy Smith - Chapter 3

Author: Alicia Blade

Darien walked slowly down the familiar hallways, his hand clasped

around Serena's. Taking a few turns, Serena looked around, drinking in

as much as she could. To her, every door, every hallway, looked

exactly like the last. Wood paneled and very little decoration.

Finally, Darien stopped, taking in a deep breath. She followed his

gaze to the door they had stopped in front of.

"What's this?"

"My old room." Placing his hand on the knob, he opened it

slowly. Inside were the same worn sheers, the green and brown blankets

on the bed, an old lamp on a dresser. Walking inside, he opened one of

the drawers and saw that it was empty. "Looks like they haven't given

it to anyone else since I left."

Serena walked over to the dirty window. Looking out, she saw a

large courtyard filled with children laughing and playing merrily.

Turning back, she saw that Darien had lain down on his bed, staring up

at the ceiling. She walked over to him, sitting down by his side,

before kicking up her feet and curling up next to him. He smiled and

wrapped his arm around her waist.

"I couldn't imagine living here," Serena whispered.

"You get used to it," he replied, stroking his hand through her

hair. They remained like that for a moment, before suddenly, he jolted

to a sitting position. "I wonder..."

"What? What is it?"

He slid to the edge of the bed, standing up and moving to a

corner of the room. Kneeling, he knocked on the wood a couple times,

much to the amusement of Serena. Then, he dug his fingers in between

the cracks in the wood, and to Serena's surprise, pulled one of the

panels up from the ground. She stood and walked over to him, watching

in awe.

"Ha! I knew it would still be here!" he exclaimed. Reaching

beneath the floor, he picked up a small tin box, about the size of a

shoebox.

"What's that?"

"My buried treasure," he said tauntingly. She giggled and they

sat down on the bed together. "I tried to make a time capsule once. I

put it under there when I was about... either eight or nine, and I

told myself I wouldn't open it again until I knew I was finally free

of this place. Do you think I should open it now?" His eyes twinkled

at her mischievously. Nodding in excitement, she leaned closer to him.

"I'm anxious to know what's in there."

He chuckled. "I don't even remember myself."

Dramatically, he removed the lid. The first thing they saw

inside was a small folded up blanket. He gasped, taking it out of the

box. "Oh... this was the quilt that Dorothy sewed for me when I first

got here. I would sleep with it every night..."

Serena giggled, snuggling closer to him, trying to think of him

as a little boy, curled up in the bed late at night. The blanket was a

quilt, green and blue with different colored embroidered roses in the

boxes. The center square held a large, blooming red bud. Next, he

pulled out an old picture. He analyzed it for a minute, studying the

people carefully. "I don't remember having this taken..."

"Who are they?"

He grinned at her from the corner of his eye. "Don't you

recognize any of them?"

She furrowed her brow, taking the small photo from his hands.

After a minute, she gasped. "Is that YOU?!"

"Yup."

"Wow, you're so little... Oh, you were such an adorable little

boy..." Looking at him slyly from the corner of his eyes, she teased,

"What happened to you?"

He glared at her, faking anger. "Why you little..." he

threatened, immediately reaching out to tickle her. She jerked away,

laughing merrily, screaming in protest.

"I was only JOKING!" she screeched, trying desperately to

retrieve her breath. After a long time of continued torture, he

stopped, smiling down on her. After a moment of watching the exhausted

girl gasping tiredly, he sat up again, taking the picture from her

fingers. She waited a minute before following suit, warily moving

close to him again. As a small attempt at revenge, she slapped him

lightly in the shoulder, which he chose to ignore. "So who are the

other people?" she asked finally.

"That's Dorothy, and that's the lady you met downstairs, Mrs.

Otomodachi. I'm not sure who the kids are..."

"Oh. Hey, what's that?" she asked, pointing to something else in

the box. Darien set the photograph aside, reaching inside the box to

pull out a tiny stuffed bear.

"This is Booboo."

She snickered. "Booboo?!"

He pouted at her, hugging the bear to his chest. "Don't make fun

of him... this was my best friend, next to Dorothy. He's an excellent

listener."

"I'm sure he is," she giggled, taking it from him. The bear was

dark brown, worn and tattered from use. She smoothed and petted his

fur for a moment before setting him down on the blanket. "What else

you got in there?"

"Hm... looks like I have a couple coins, must have been my life

savings," he said with a wink. "Then... hey, what's this?" Serena

peered over his shoulder as he picked up a miniature book. The cover

was dark green with a white ribbon sticking out from one of the pages.

"Oh," he finally whispered, holding it up to the light.

"What is it?"

"The diary I kept when I was very little. I wonder what's in

it..."

Serena hesitated a moment, before asking, "Do you mind if... if

I look at it?"

He raised his eyes to hers in surprise, staring at her for a

moment, before shrugging. "Sure, I guess..." He handed her the book

and she analyzed it a moment, before flipping through the pages.

"August 3. Today is my birthday, three years since the accident.

I have forced myself not to cry. It was quite a bit easier to deal

with this afternoon when Dorothy made me a cake. It was huge, and all

the other kids got a piece, but she gave me the biggest with the most

frosting. I was so surprised when even Aaron told me happy birthday! I

think it's the first sentence he's ever spoken to me, without it being

a threat. In fact, all the others were nice to me. It was awkward.

Kate and her friend, Rayea, picked some wild flowers even. They're

sitting on my windowsill. Today was a wonderful day, if only it hadn't

been scarred by the memories looming above me the entire time. I know

that things will be back to normal tomorrow, being picked on, bullied

around, but I think I'll have sweet dreams tonight."

Serena looked up at Darien again. He was staring off at the wall

in seemingly deep thought. Finally, he whispered, "I remember that

day."

Gulping, Serena placed her arm over his shoulders. "Darien, why

were you so alone? It seems as though all the girls had crushes on

you, so obviously not everyone hated you or thought you were...

different."

He chuckled, eyeing her from the corner of his eye. "They liked

me because of my looks. Not once did any of them try to get to know

the real me, inside."

Sighing, Serena snuggled up to his shoulder. "I'm sure if they

had, they all would have loved you that much more."

A quick silence passed and he kissed the top of her head gently.

"Come on, there's still lots to see."

He stood, dragging her to her feet, before placing the articles

into the box again. After the blanket had been neatly folded and

placed on top, he once again slid it under the wooden board.

"Aren't you going to take that with you?"

He shook his head, putting down the plank again. "Naw, maybe

some kid will come by it in fifty years and imagine he's found buried

treasure. I'm sure he'd have more fun with it than I would."

Standing again, he took hold of her hand, threading their

fingers together, before leaving off into the hallway again, with one

last look at the small, bare room.

"So where are we going next?"

"Well... what do you want to see? The dining room, courtyards..."

"Anything that was special to you."

"Hm..." Darien pondered that for a moment, before something

clicked inside of him. "Oh, I know!" Speeding up his pace, he dragged

her down another hallway. She giggled at the excited expression on his

face all the sudden. She could guess he was taking her somewhere that

held good memories.

After turning through hallway and corner, Darien finally came to

the last door at the end of one hall. It was closed. Biting his lip,

he gently pushed it open, holding it for Serena as she walked in.

The first thing she saw was a small round table in the center of

the room, two antique chairs under it. The only thing on top was a

small drinking glass with a rose in it, just beginning to wilt. On one

side of the room was a desk with a few empty pencil and envelope

holders and an old rolling chair. The far wall had a dusty window with

worn and sun-bleached curtains draping from a simple rod above it.

Below the window was a small cupboard.

"Darien, where are we?" she asked hearing the door close behind

her.

"This is Dorothy's office. It's where we always had our

afternoon tea."

"Oh," she whispered, looking around.

"It looks like they took quite a bit of stuff out when she died.

There always used to be a tablecloth... and cushions on the chairs.

The desk was constantly littered in papers, the windowsill and all the

counter tops were always covered in little gifts she'd received over

the years." He brushed past her, walking further into the room.

Running his hand over the back of the chair farthest from Serena, he

continued, "This is where she sat. And I sat over there. And every

evening I would bring her a rose, and she would fill up a new glass

with water and place it in the middle of the table." Curiously, he

reached out and picked up the glass that was there now. "I wonder

where this one came from... It's not dry, and it looks like it's only

a few days old."

Serena sighed, walking over to sit down at the table. After she

had pulled out the chair, Darien grabbed her hand and she looked up at

him curiously. Grinning, he pulled her around to the other side of the

table, pulling the chair out for her, he helped her to sit. She giggled.

"Hm... I wonder if the tea set is still in here..."

Watching over her shoulder, Serena saw Darien walk over to the

small cabinet beneath the window, but when he opened it, it was found

to be empty.

"Guess not... Oh, well, we'll just pretend."

He walked back to the table, sitting across from her, and mimed

holding a teapot in his hand, a cup in the other.

"Would you like one sugar or two?"

She laughed. "I would like two, please."

With an imaginary spoon, he put some invisible sugar into her

non-existent tea, before handing her the cup and saucer. Pouring

himself some, they began sipping courteously.

"What a splendid day 'tis!" remarked Serena with a fake English

accent.

"Perfectly delightful!" added Darien, a genuine smile crossing

his face.

They chatted mindlessly for awhile, until Darien commented sadly

that there was no tea left, holding up the pot and tilting it upside

down to prove his point.

"Shall we continue, madam?"

"Of course gentleman!" they placed the chairs beneath the table

again, before he wrapped his arm around her waist, leading her back

into the maze of hallways.

"This place is really a mansion," Serena thought out loud.

Darien looked around a bit. "Yeah, it is pretty big, but I

wouldn't go as far as to call it a mansion. Of course... it always

resembled more of a prison to me."

Serena looked at him sadly. "Where are we going now?"

"I'm not sure. There's not much more to look at up on these

floors, so I guess we'll go downstairs again. Um... would you like to

see the gardens?"

"Ooh, I'd love to! You mean the ones you planted?"

"Uh-huh, the roses."

He led her down to the main lobby again, before turning back

into another direction. They passed through the dining hall, then a

larger room he told her was meant for play when it rained, then she

found herself in a large courtyard. On one side, many kids were lined

up, oldest on one side, youngest on the other. Ms. Otomodachi was

instructing them on being quiet and telling off the activities for the

day.

"Looks like recess is about over," he told her. Grabbing onto

her hand, he led her away to a tall iron gate at the back of the yard.

Upon reaching it, he pushed it open, and she found herself in a field

of tall grass, stretching out to another, smaller gate. Turning to the

right, he pulled her along the iron wall until they reached the

corner, and he turned right again, down the other side of the

orphanage building. Finally, he pointed to a spot just to their left.

A group of tall cherry trees grew in the center of a wooden boxed

garden. She gasped and let herself be led over to the patch of color

amidst the tall grass.

"Oh, they're beautiful!" she exclaimed, running over to the

flower box. "You planted all these?"

"Yeah..." he whispered, looking around at the plants

suspiciously.

"Darien, what's wrong?" Serena finally asked after searching

over all the small rock paths, the huge cherry trees, perfect for

climbing. When she came back, he hadn't moved from his spot.

"It's just... that they all look TOO nice. Kind of like...

someone kept working on them after I left."

"Who are you?!" asked a small, concerned voice. Turning back to

the orphanage, they watched as a young boy of about 10 years old came

over to them. In one hand was a large pale, and in the other, a small

rake. He had light blonde hair messily falling over bright green eyes,

searching over the two angrily.

"Hi... I'm Darien, and this is Serena." Darien held out a

suspicious hand. The boy set down the pale carefully, shaking his

hand.

"What's your name?" asked Serena kindly.

"I'm Kevin Saotomai."

"Oh, then you're the young man Ms. Otomodachi was telling us a

bit about!" exclaimed Serena.

Darien looked down on the equipment the boy had with him. "You

take care of the roses now?"

"Uh-huh. It gets me away from all the other kids. I didn't plant

them though, they were here before I came."

Darien chuckled. "I know. I planted them."

Furrowing his brow, Kevin looked at him curiously for a moment,

before a smile crept into his eyes. "You're Darien Chiba, aren't you?"

"You've heard of me?"

"Sure, before she passed away, Mrs. Smith used to tell me all

the time about you and the roses... she said that I reminded her of

you quite a bit." Continuously smiling, Kevin once again picked up the

pale, before walking over to the garden. "I'm glad I got to meet you.

I guess you're here for Mrs. Smith's funeral?"

"Yeah... Dorothy meant a lot to me..."

Kevin chuckled a bit. "Same here. I'll miss her. Ha! I thought I

was the only one who ever called her Dorothy!"

Serena watched on in happiness as Darien walked over to Kevin

again, kneeling down in front of a rose bush. For awhile, he gave him

secrets on maintaining the plants, and hints on keeping bugs and such

away. Finally, he looked back up at her, catching her loving gaze on

him. She gasped, turning away with a slight blush.

"It was nice meeting you, Kevin, but I think we'd better get

home now."

"Alright. Thanks for the tips. I'll take good care of the roses,

you know. At least, until I move out of here."

"I'd appreciate that."

They shook hands, before Darien wrapped an arm around Serena and

they walked back to the front of the building, before turning back in

the direction of the church.

"I like that kid," Darien finally said. Serena smiled up at him.

"You two sure did get along. And Dorothy was right, he does

remind me of you!"

"Well... I hope he'll have a good life. I hope he doesn't end up

lonely like..." Darien paused. Serena looked up at him, sadness and

worry flashing through her eyes. Finally, he lowered his gaze to her.

"Like some people."

Gulping, he looked ahead again and they walked back to the

parking lot in silence.

The drive home was mostly in silence as well, Serena watching

him from the corner of her eye as he kept his serious gaze glued to

the road ahead.

"So I guess I'm taking you home then?" he finally asked once

they entered Tokyo's borders.

She sighed, watching the buildings flash by the window. "I guess

so..."

"What do you mean 'you guess so'?"

"I mean... do you have to? Are you sure you'll be okay all

alone? If you want, I can come back to your apartment, keep you

company for a little while longer. Darien... I just... It hurts to

think of you being by yourself, when I know I could be there for you."

Darien shook his head. "Serena, I can't ask you to..."

"You're not asking me, I'm asking you."

He laughed slightly. "You know what I mean. You've done so much

already, you don't have to... I'll be fine, Serena. Thanks for the

offer, but you've supported me long enough and... you've helped me

through so much already. I can't... You don't have to feel obligated

to me or anything..."

"You want me to stay, don't you?"

After a moment of silence, his lips cracked into a smile and he

glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. "Would you?"

"Any idea what time your mom would want you home?" Darien asked,

opening the door to his apartment. Serena walked in shrugging.

"I'm not sure. Maybe I'll call her..."

"You should do that. I'm gonna go get us something to eat. We

pretty much skipped over lunch."

She laughed, "You know how I hate to go without a meal!"

He kindly showed her to the phone, before digging through his

refrigerator and cupboards.

After the phone rang a few times, Serena heard her mom's voice

pick up the phone. "Hi Mom! Oh, the funeral went fine. I'm over at

Darien's apartment right now... I just thought he might need me a

little while longer. I'm not sure when I'll be home. I guess...

probably in an hour or two. Alright... that's fine... um, do you want

to take down his number? Alright, it's... hold on a sec." She looked

up at Darien curiously.

He grinned back. "555,"

"555,"

"3259."

"3259. Okay, I'll see you later, Mom. Love you too. Bye!"

Hanging up the phone, she walked over to Darien, stealing a piece of

cheese as he sliced it up. He chuckled, pushing her gently out of the

way.

"Cheese stealer," he teased.

"What are you making?"

"Cheese and crackers."

"Yum!" A silence passed as he turned to dig through his cabinets

and Serena stole another piece of cheese. Emerging with a box of thin

crackers, Darien placed them in a single layer on a large platter,

covering them in the cheese. "So..." said Serena slowly, "What time is

the will reading tomorrow?"

"2:00."

"Oh... so then you'll pick me up around 12:30?"

Holding out the plate, he raised an eyebrow at her. She took a

cracker, shoving it into her mouth. "Serena, you can't come with me

tomorrow."

"Why not?"

"Because you have school, silly! You can't miss two days in a

row, especially not on my account."

"Darien, I want to..."

"No, Serena," he said sternly. "You've been a lot of help to me,

and I would love to have you there again tomorrow, but I can't allow

you to miss too much school. Thanks for the offer, but I'm sure you

have something going tomorrow that is more important."

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "I have a math test, but that's

it! And besides, I'm gonna fail anyway. I absolutely hate algebra!

None of it makes any sense!"

"Ah, math isn't too hard. You won't fail... But you DO have to

go. Alright?"

Her shoulders drooping, Serena nodded. "Alright, I guess so. Are

you sure you'll be alright tomorrow?"

"I'll be fine, thank you. You've gotten me through the hard

part."

A small smile creeping onto her face, she ate another cracker.

"Say, Serena... if... never mind."

"What?"

"I was just thinking that... Well, since you've been so good to

me, maybe there's something I could help you with...?"

"Darien, you don't owe me a thing. I helped you because I wanted

to... and... I like spending time with you."

He grinned, setting the small platter down on the counter. "I

love spending time with you, too. But Serena, actually, I was thinking

that maybe... if you wanted I could help you with this math a little.

Tutor you for a bit?"

Eyes widening in surprise, she stared at him silently for a

moment. "You would help me?"

"Of course! If you want me too, that is..."

She giggled, lowering her eyes to the floor. "It would just be a

waist of your time, you know. I could never understand any of that

stuff..."

He chuckled. "I'll try my luck with it. You go make yourself

comfortable, and I'll go scrounge up some paper and pencils."

"X is a letter, Darien," Serena said matter-of-factly. Darien

laughed, dropping his pencil and rubbing at his temples.

"Yes, Serena, I know that. But HERE it's being used as a

variable."

"Oh, yes, Darien, and I know what a variable is," Serena said

sarcastically.

"Don't you pay attention in class at all?"

She sighed. "Sometimes..."

"Well you must have slept through this lesson. Now, variables

are letters that are used in place of unknown numbers."

She reacted with a blank stare, causing him to chuckle slightly.

They were both lying on their stomachs, side by side, in the center of

his living room. A plate of crackers and cheese, as well as a pad of

blank paper sat in front of them. Newly sharpened pencils were

scattered messily over the carpet.

Darien sighed, picking up his pencil again, he wrote on the paper in

front of him:

3[] = 9(4 - 2)

"Alright, Serena, let's try it this way, no letters."

She sighed, nibbling on the eraser of her own pencil. "First

deal with the parentheses."

"Okay... 4 - 2 is 2, so then... what?"

"Now you have to..." he taunted, waiting for her to complete his

sentence.

Tilting her head to the side, she whispered, "Times by nine?"

"Uh-huh..."

"Which makes 18."

"Good, so now you know that 3 times something is 18. The easy

way to do this is to divide each side by three, that way you get the

answer alone."

"Huh?"

"Just do it, you'll see what I mean."

"Okay... 3 divided by three is nothing. And 18 divided by 3 is

six." Serena stared at her new equation.

[] = 6

"Is... that the answer?"

"Yup! It's 6!"

Serena slowly recounted her steps, remembering what she had

done, before a wide grin spread over her lips. "That... wasn't too

bad!"

"Wanna try another one, with letters?"

She gulped, her smile fading slightly. "I don't know..."

"Just think that each letter is an open box, okay?"

She nodded as Darien wrote down another equation. Passing the

pad of paper over to her again, he watched her struggle for a minute,

simply staring at it and chewing furiously at her eraser. Rolling his

eyes, he reached forward and grabbed the pencil from out of her lips.

She whimpered, pouting up at him.

"You're not getting anywhere that way. Come on, Serena, I KNOW

you can do this. I have faith in you..."

She stared at him silently as he handed the pencil back, her

heartbeat quickening at the look in his deep cerulean eyes. With

renewed courage, she turned back to the paper.

'Okay, first the parentheses... then multiplication and

division... adding and subtracting... what you do to one side, you

must do to the other and... and... Y equals 11?'

Darien watched in awe as she completed the problem. She had gone

step by step, flying through it easily. After a minute of recounting

her work, she looked up at him worriedly. His stunned expression

turned to a broad grin. "You did it!"

Her eyes widened. "I did?!"

"Yeah, it's all right! Great job Serena! Told ya you could it!"

Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, he kissed her cheek. She giggled,

smiling proudly. "Alright, here, I'll give you a few more, and I think

you'll be ready for the test!"

Serena couldn't stop smiling at him while he wrote down a few

more equations, her cheek tingling slightly. Though he'd kissed her

many times today, this time seemed different. She wasn't comforting

him now.

Pulling back, Darien passed her the paper. He watched her face

carefully as she worked through the problems, her nose scrunched up in

concentration, her brow furrowed slightly. His heart flew happily

while he watched her. His arm was still resting on her back and

shoulders, feeling the silky material of her sundress rub against his

skin. She was so beautiful, so sweet, so loving... so... kiss-able. He

grinned, his thoughts drifting into dreams and fantasies of holding

the girl in his arms, never letting go. He'd experienced being that

close to her. He'd tasted her skin, smelled her hair, tied his arms

around her waist, but none of it... meant what he wanted to say to

her. She thought she was being a friend, he wanted her to be more. He

wanted to kiss her sweet lips, and feel her respond with love and

passion.

She set her pencil down, blowing some bangs off her forehead.

She could feel a headache begin to pound on her temples. Turning her

head to the side, she looked over at Darien. His elbow was resting on

the floor, his closed fist propping up his head. His dark blue eyes

were staring at her intrigued.

"Darien?"

Suddenly, he snapped back to life, shaking his head slightly.

With the tints of a blush growing on his cheeks, he cleared his

throat, turning back to the papers. "Um... a... are you finished?"

"Yeah, I think so."

Inhaling deeply, he went over the problems, his eyes becoming

wider with each problem. By the time he reached the last solution, his

jaw dropped.

"That bad?" Serena squeaked out, her eyes starting to fill up

with tears. 'I'll never get this right...'

"Serena... they're... all perfect! You got them all!"

She stared at him in shock for a minute, before pulling the

paper back to her and looking over the problems, as if she expected

them to hold up little 'correct' signs.

"You're kidding!"

"No! Serena, I told you that algebra is easy! You will do just

fine on this test."

After analyzing the paper a moment longer, she looked up at him

in delight. "Thank you!" she squealed, and immediately after, lunged

herself into his arms, toppling him over to his back. He gasped in

surprise, before finally wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Hey, no problem Serena. I'm glad I could help... Besides, you

did everything, you know."

"Oh, but Darien, I could never have done this without you. For

some reason... I understand it when you teach me..."

He laughed. "I think you've studied enough for today. I also

think you deserve a treat!"

"A treat? Like what?"

"Whatever you want."

"Hmm..." Serena sat up, straddling his waist for a moment while

she stared up in deep thought. Suddenly, her eyes brightened, and she

leaned down again, placing her hands on either side of his head and

smiling excitedly. "Could we make chocolate chip cookies?!"

"Sure, if that's what you want!"

"Yup, sure is!" She hopped off of him quickly, skipping into the

kitchen. He chuckled, running his hand through his hair.

'How can one girl hold so much energy?' Standing, he followed

her into the next room.

"Three-fourths cup sugar. Three-fourths cup brown sugar. Two

eggs..." said Serena, reading the recipe while Darien measured the

ingredients and poured them into a large bowl. She was sitting on the

counter, her legs kicking happily in front of her. Darien cracked the

last egg, letting it slip into the bowl, before tossing the shell into

the garbage can. "What now?"

"Now we need another small bowl for the flour, salt, and baking

soda."

He turned, opening a cupboard before bringing out a smaller

bowl. "Will this one do?"

"Yup! We need two and a fourth cups flour, and a teaspoon of

each salt and baking soda."

"Got that," he said, measuring carefully. Serena watched as he

poured in the salt, before picking up a fork and lightly sifting it

together. On emptation, she reached forward, dipping her finger into

the bowl, before dabbing some on Darien's nose. His jaw dropped,

glaring at her from the corner of his eye. She giggled, kicking her

feet happily. Shaking his head, he reached for the bag of flour,

taking a fairly small handful. She gasped and squealed, attempting to

dodge off the counter, but was too late as he stepped in front of her

and smeared the white dust over her cheek. Staring at him in surprised

anger, she shook her finger in his face.

"You do realize that... THIS MEANS WAR!"

Quickly jumping beneath his arm and off the counter, she grabbed

the flour. Dipping her hand in, she threw it at him, covering his hair

in the white grains.

"Why you little..." he threatened, stealing the bowl off the

table. She ran around the island in the middle of the kitchen in an

attempt to escape. Darien chuckled, jumping on the counter and sliding

over. She squealed, trying to run out of harm's way, but he

immediately wrapped an arm around her waist, covering her face in the

flour with his free hand. Finally, he let her go, taking the flour

away from her.

Serena closed her eyes, trying desperately to wipe the stuff off

of her face. "Darien..." she wined when it wouldn't come off. He

laughed, setting the bag and bowl down again, before picking up a

dishtowel and wetting it. Shaking his head, he walked over to her.

Lifting her chin up, he began to wipe her face clean. Her eyes opened

and she watched him work so tenderly, it made her heart skip a beat.

"You started it," he said once he had finished, winking at her

slyly. She giggled, reaching up to brush some out of his hair.

"I think we forgot about something."

"What's that?"

"The cookies!" Pushing herself away from him, she returned to

the counter. Putting a bit more flour into the bowl, she set it aside.

She could hear Darien walk up to her again.

"What do we do now?"

"First we have to mix the egg mixture, then we stir in the flour

and stuff."

"I'll go get the mixer."

"NO!"

Darien froze half way across the kitchen and turned to stare at

her in surprise. "Huh? Why not?"

"Because, silly, it's tradition to stir it by hand!"

"You mean with a spoon?"

She shook her head, pretending to roll up her sleeves. "Uh-uh. I

mean by HAND."

He chuckled, watching as she washed her hands carefully beneath

the sink, dried them, and then turned back to the dough. Taking a deep

breath, she dove her fingers into the mix, making gross faces as she

mixed up the eggs, stirring them around carefully. Rolling his eyes,

he followed suit, cleaning his hands carefully and joining her.

She squealed in horror every time bits of the eggs would ooze

through her fingers. The sugar would stick to her palms, the butter

grease up her fist and knuckles. Darien watched in amusement, feeling

somewhat alive as he stirred the mixture. He'd missed doing stuff like

this as a child.

Finally, the dough was mixed enough to pour in the flour,

creating a puff of smoke as Serena dropped it in. They mixed and

folded, laughing delightedly as it slowly turned into a delicious

looking, and smelling, substance. After it was mixed well enough, they

added the chocolate chips and stirred for just a minute longer.

"I'd say it's about ready to bake," said Serena proudly.

Darien agreed. Grabbing a spoon he began scraping off the dough

still stuck to his hand. After he was finished, he took hold of her

wrist and did the same to her. She giggled loudly, trying to squirm

away from him.

"That tickles!"

"Oh, just hold still for a bit, Serena." Finishing, he cleaned

off her other hand with the spoon. She giggled the entire time,

watching his hand holding onto hers so carefully. Finally he finished.

Dropping the spoon into the bowl, he went to wash his hands off in the

sink. She grinned at him secretly, nibbling on her fingertips.

"Mm, this turned out really good!" she exclaimed, licking

between her fingers, trying to scrape off all the dough he had missed.

"Really?" he said, starting to create little blobs on the cookie

sheet.

"Yeah, try it!" she said happily, holding her hand up to his

mouth.

Without a second thought, Darien caught her fingers in his lips.

The moment he did that, both of them realized exactly what they were

doing. A startled whimper escaped Serena's throat despite her attempts

to hold it back. They're gazes caught and every nerve in Serena's body

filled with electricity, her mind losing all rational thought. Darien

stared at her, slowly drawing away, his tongue smoothing over her

fingers once again, before breaking contact. Her arm shakily pulled

back, watching his face as he unconsciously licked his lips. After a

moment of dazed silence, Darien cleared his throat and forced a smile.

"That does taste very, very good."

She nodded and whispered, "Told you so."

Gulping, Darien slowly turned away, opening the oven and sliding

the cookie sheet in. Serena watched him for a moment before turning

away. She finished licking off her hand, before rinsing it beneath the

faucet.

"How long do we cook these?"

"About 11 minutes."

Darien set the timer, before walking over to the bowl and

picking up the spoon. He took another bit of the dough. "This really

did turn out very tasty!"

"I have the magic touch," Serena joked, walking over to him and

taking a pinch of the sweets for herself. They stood there for a

minute in silence, stealing bits and eating. Finally, Darien laughed.

"Keep this up and we won't have any left for cookies!" Picking

up the bowl, he moved it to a faraway counter.

"Aw, come on, one more itty bitty bite?" begged Serena,

following him. He turned around, the only barrier between her and the

dough.

"Nuh-uh, no more Serena. You've had enough. You'll make yourself

sick!"

"I will not either! Please Darien?!"

He furrowed his brow, contemplating. She stuck out her lower lip

and he laughed. Reaching behind him, he found the spoon and filled it

easily. Pulling it in front of him, he watched her eyes grow wide. She

leaned forward, practically pushing herself against him as he held the

spoon tantalizingly in front of her lips. But just as she was about to

devour it, he pulled away, holding it above her head.

"I change my mind, you don't deserve any."

"Ugh! Darien!"

He shook his head. She leaned forward, standing on her tiptoes

in attempt to reach the spoon, but it was way out of reach. She didn't

notice how close their lips had become as she struggled to grasp the

tempting bite.

But he did.

His mind going blank, Darien leaned down, instantly catching her

lips on his. She froze beneath him, her previous mission instantly

forgotten. Eventually, she closed her eyes, her outstretched arm

dropping to wrap around his neck. Taking the hint, he tied his arms

around her waist, the spoon forgotten in his grasp. He deepened the

kiss, pressing his lips savagely against hers, draining the breath

from her quickly. With knowing kisses, he tempted her mouth open,

sliding his tongue in. They could taste the sweetness of sugar and

chocolate melting in their mouths as they kissed, holding each other

closer every moment, wrapping their arms tighter, forcing their kisses

deeper. Serena moaned deeply from some corner in her throat, Darien

delighted in the sound and lightened his kisses slightly, his lips

tugging at her own. Gulping, he pulled away for breath, still

lingering dangerously close to her face. He laid butterfly kisses on

the corner of her lips, over her cheek, finally resting his head on

hers. They remained in each other's embrace, gasping for air.

"Serena..." Darien whispered dazedly, feeling her shudder

slightly beneath him. Gulping, he pried himself away, just far enough

to look into her eyes. She was staring at him in shock, her eyes wide

and pale, her chest rising with every breath. Neither knew what to say

as they stared at each other and time dragged on.

Unconsciously, Serena wet her lips, questions and hope rising in

her thoughts as her mind returned to the thinking stage. Slowly, a

smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

Darien couldn't help but smile as well. After how many dreams

and fantasies, it was coming real. She was in his arms, smiling. He

didn't know that she was thinking the exact same thing.

Leaning forward, he lightly brushed her lips once more, barely

touching them. He could feel her shift forward at the movement and his

heart thumped wildly in his chest.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

RING! RING!

They each gasped, turning to look out over the kitchen. Darien

chuckled at each of their giddiness.

"I'll get the phone, you get the cookies," he whispered into her

ear. He could see her inhale sharply as a blush began to tint her

cheeks. Nodding, she walked over to the oven as he traveled the short

distance to the phone.

"Hello, this is Darien," he spoke, his voice somewhat shaky.

"Oh, yes, Mrs. Tsukino, she's right here."

Serena looked up to him, the oven open as she slipped on the

oven mitts. Rolling her eyes, she walked over to him, handing him the

mitts before taking the phone. She smiled at him shyly and he returned

the grin, before walking over to the oven.

"Hi Mom! Oh, we're doing great! Really? Uh-huh... oh, that's

okay. Yeah, sure, I'll be home in a little bit. Bye!"

She hung up the phone, turning to see Darien just closing the

oven.

"I have to get home soon."

He nodded slowly, chewing on his lower lip. The awkwardness was

just beginning to settle in as previously unthinkable doubts arose in

their heads.

"Do... you want me to walk you home?"

"No, thanks, I think I'll be fine..."

He nodded, clearing his throat. "Okay... then... um... I'll show

you to the door, I guess..." They walked out into the living room

silently, they're eyes glued to the floor. Upon reaching the door, he

opened it for Serena slowly, before meeting her gaze with his own.

"Thank you," she finally whispered, breaking the silence.

"For... tutoring me and all..."

He nodded. "Thanks for being there for me today, Meatball Head.

You helped me more than you can imagine. I really don't know what I

would have done if you hadn't volunteered to come with me today..."

She nodded in response. Pursing her lips together, she shakily

walked out of the door, inhaling sharply as she stepped into the

deserted hallway. When she was about five feet away from him, Darien

stopped her.

"Serena!"

"Hm?" she asked, instantly turning around.

"Um... I just... uh..."

A silence fell over them again as they stared at each other,

their hearts calling out to the other. Darien twiddled his fingers

nervously, clearing his throat, trying to get the words out. He licked

his lips and finally took a deep breath, stepping forward into the

hallway. Serena responded instantaneously, meeting him half the

distance. His arms wrapped around her waist, her hands pulled his face

down to hers, and their lips pressed together.

After breaking the quick, powerful kiss Darien smiled down on

her delighted, love-struck face. "Just wanted to wish you good luck on

your test tomorrow."

She giggled, rubbing her lips against his one last time, her

eyes cast over in a dreamy haze. Darien watched in happy amusement as

she pulled herself out of his arms, turned and skipped excitedly to

the elevator, not once looking back.

Closing the door behind him, he found it impossible to wipe away

the smile clinging to his face.


	4. Chapter 4

Saying Goodbye to Dorothy Smith - Chapter 4  
Alicia Blade 

Okay, I think the question marks in the last two chapters were fixed, as well as those in the drabbles. Sorry about that. Very odd... 

If they pop up again, please let me know. Thanks! _"When I was really hurting,  
I prayed to the Lord.  
He answered my prayer,  
And took my worries away."_  
-Psalm 118:5

Saying Goodbye to Dorothy Smith  
Chapter 4

"Dorothy, where did you get this?" asked Darien, picking the ring off the counter. Dorothy stopped running the water, leaving the last of the dishes out to dry, before drying her hands on a checkered dishtowel.

"Oh, that? Why, I'm surprised you don't already know!" she exclaimed cheerfully, claiming a seat at the small round table. Darien continued standing, rolling the ring between his fingers.

"I don't. Where did it come from? Did someone give it to you?"

"Yes, in fact, the most wonderful man in the world gave that to me. It was my engagement ring."

"Engagement ring? But you're not married. . ."

"Not anymore I'm not, but I was for many years. My husband passed away about four years ago. Only a little while before you came here."

"Oh. . ." Darien whispered. Never removing his gaze from the small piece of jewelry, he traveled over to his own seat, analyzing the gorgeous treasure. The ring was a glistening gold, though somewhat tarnished from years of wear. It held two large stones, a rare, light stone with tints of purple and red and a light green peridot, tied together by a string of small white diamonds. "Why these stones?" he finally asked after a long moment of silence. "The green one is my birthstone, a peridot, right?"

"Yes, the peridot is the birthstone for August. The other stone there is my traditional birthstone, called an alexandrite, for June. It's extremely rare, and very expensive. To this day I don't know how Jacob managed to afford it. Then the peridot is Jacob's birthstone. He was born in August, just like you were. When he gave it to me, he told me that it symbolized the binding of our love, our hearts and souls. . ." Dorothy gained a glow in her sparkling green eyes as she spoke, remembering a love gone by.

"Jacob was your husband, then. How come you never talk about him?"

"Well, I guess the topic just never comes up."

"Do you ever think about him?"

"All the time, dear. I believe that the Lord has put a soul mate on this Earth for every person, regardless if they will find each other or not. I was lucky enough to find mine."

Grinning, Darien passed her the ring across the table. "Is it painful to talk about him?"

"No, not really. He led a full life, it was his time to go."

"What was he like?"

Dorothy chuckled. "We're just full of questions today, aren't we?" Darien said nothing, but continued to smile, waiting for a story he knew she was boiling inside to tell. Dorothy said nothing for awhile, twisting the ring between her hands, before sliding it onto her left ring finger. "Jacob. . . well, he was a kind man, loved little children. He grew up in the country and used to love to ride horses. We met in a hardware store, I was picking up some nails for my father, and he was working there at the time, earning money to buy, or build, himself a house. Well, I started begging my parents to send me on errands for them, just to run into him. Finally, he asked me out, and we courted for a while. I seem to remember that he was always so kind and gentle, and sweet. . . Soon enough he surprised me by being a romantic as well. He was a dream come true for me. . ."

Darien sighed, watching his friend's dreamy expressions. "Then what?"

"Then, after it seemed like decades of waiting, he proposed and we were married."

"How did he propose?" Darien continued, curiously.

"Hm. . . well. . ." mumbled Dorothy, standing to fix another pot of tea. "It was one of our dates and he took me on a walk in a park. We ended up in a rose garden, and he sat me down on a bench. . . Then he kneeled before me and told me. . . oh, he was so sweet. . . he said that he loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. . . and then. . . he asked if I would be his wife. I squealed, 'YES!' really loudly, I'm sure I scared all of the others in the park that day. Then he slid this ring onto my finger and kissed me. About 4 or 5 months later. . . we were married."

Sighing, she began pouring the fresh tea into their cups.

"That's a wonderful story. I wish I could have met Jacob."

"Oh, you would have loved him very much! Two peas in a pod you two would have been, he loved gardening as well, and his favorites were roses, red nonetheless! Yes, you surely would have gotten along well. . ."

Dorothy smiled at Darien lovingly. Taking off her ring, he passed it to him across the table. He eyed her curiously, before once again taking it into his hands, analyzing the beautiful stones.

"Do you like that, Darien?"

Never removing his gaze from the glittering gems that held it, he nodded. "It's gorgeous. . . I hope I'll be able to give the woman I love something as pretty."

She laughed slightly, nibbling at a small cookie. "I'll make you a deal. When you find your princess, and you know it's her, I'll give you this ring. And if you like, you can give it to her, as an engagement or wedding ring."

Darien gasped, lifting his eyes to clash with her smiling, emerald gaze. "A. . .are you sure?"

"Yes, of course! I have no use of it anymore; I certainly don't want to be buried with the thing! If you like it that much, and want it for your bride, then it's yours! Just. . . as long as I get to meet this girl of your dreams first!"

Grinning widely, Darien passed the ring back to her. "Of course you will meet her! And you'll have to come to the wedding too, you know!"

"Oh, I'm sure I'll be able to take the day off, I wouldn't miss it for the world!"

... 

Staring up at the tall, dark building, Darien wondered why it looked so much more ominous than it had yesterday. He finally came to the conclusion that Serena must have shined her light upon it. Everything was happier, brighter when she was around.

The dirt path beneath his feet made the day seem warm and humid, burrowing up in small puffs of smoke whenever someone would walk by. He watched the open French doors, welcoming in visitors as Dorothy's acquaintances took their seats. Up in the dusty windows, hundreds of little faces watched on in awe from their bedrooms, wondering when the grown ups would leave, so that they could go out and play.

"Can't just stand here all day, Darien," he muttered to himself, urging his feet to move forward. He knew it would go by fast. That he could get whatever it was Dorothy wanted him to have, and leave, quick and painlessly. Then he could go home and take a nice long nap. He hoped his dreams would no longer echo of his former memories. They were starting to hurt.

Slowly, he forced himself forward, up the short flight of stairs and into the dark, antique lobby. Many others had already claimed their seats, some still stood in small groups, chatting amongst themselves. Gulping, he walked to the front of the room, claiming a seat in a corner. He didn't want to walk far when they called his name. Smoothing out his jacket, he attempted to keep his mind occupied with thoughts of cookie dough and algebra problems. As imagined, a smile crept over his lips.

'She may not be here with me right now, but that doesn't mean I can't imagine she is,' he comforted himself unconsciously.

Soon enough, a man in a gray business suit walked up to a podium at the front of the room, urging others to take their seats in order to begin. The conversations in the room dulled to steady hums as people claimed their chairs.

"Hello ladies and gentleman and welcome to The Nguyen Orphanage. We are here to pay respects to Mrs. Dorothy Smith, and distribute her belongings as she has wished. You are all gathered here to receive gifts from our sadly deceased friend. I will begin with reading a statement from her will, which she was coached in writing by myself," he began. Darien figured that this was her lawyer, it seemed obvious enough, as the man picked up a short stack of papers, nicely bound together, and began to read.

"'My friends and family, as you are hearing this read to you, I know that I have passed away. Please find comfort in the knowledge that I have led a wonderful life, and it was my time to leave this world and travel on to the next. I thank you all for leading me down such a happy road in my lifetime, and please know that I love each of you very much. Please take these gifts, my belongings, and find joy in each of them. I pray you will think of me in Heaven every time they are used, touched, or looked at. With much love to all, yours in Christ, Dorothy J. Smith.'"

Clearing his throat, the man flipped to the next page, raising his eyes to the audience. "I will now begin reading her individual comments for each of the will recipients, and my assistants will pass out your new belongings.

"'To Mrs. F. Otomodachi, my friend for life, and co-business partner. I leave you with my life work, The Nguyen Orphanage, as well as all priceless painting and artifacts within. To you I bestow a third of my life savings, $10,000.'" From in the crowd, Mrs. Otomodachi sobbed loudly, burying her face in a handkerchief, and Darien sighed sadly. This could take a while, and he no longer wanted to be here, if he had ever wanted to be in the first place.

Half an hour later. . . 

"'To C. B. Sakura, a most dearest friend. I leave you with the oak dining set, table and chairs, in my private dining room, as well as the diamond earrings you always announced that you loved so very much, and as promised.

"'To D. Chiba. . .'" Darien sat up unconsciously, raising his droopy and tired eyelids in new awareness. "'I wish to you a wonderful life, you have made me so proud and I love you as if you were my own son. I leave you with my red rose china tea set that we were so accustomed to using at daily tea time. I also give to you my engagement ring that you admired, to be passed to wife and children.

"'To R. Ame. . .'"

Too lost in slight shock, Darien didn't hear, didn't pay attention to, anything else said that day. His mind could only picture the golden ring, the alexandrite, the diamonds, and the peridot. . . 

. . .

Serena stared into space as her friends chattered on beneath the shade of the large oak tree in the courtyard. Leaning her back against the trunk, she sighed, tilting her head to the side. Unconsciously, two fingertips came up to stroke across her lips, reminiscing on the feel of his kisses. It had all seemed like a dream. . .

"Serena? Earth to Serena!" yelled Lita agitatedly.

"Huh?" she asked quietly, raising her eyebrows confused at the girl.

"Where did YOU go?"

Gulping, she leaned back again, closing her eyes. "Nowhere. I'm just tired, Lita."

"Right. . . just tired." She paused for a moment, before scooting closer to the girl. "So where did you go yesterday?"

"I told you, I was at a funeral."

"Mmhmm. . . who died?"

Her eyes flying open, Serena turned to look at the brunette in shock. "How can you just ask me something like that and sound so. . . so. . . Lita, try to be considerate!"

Rolling her eyes, Lita leaned against the tree as well. "Aw, come on Serena, it's obvious you're not sad or anything right now. You're off in la-la land somewhere, and you've got this weird day-dreamy face on. Don't try to pretend your heartbroken now!"

Humphing her shoulders, Serena, pulled her knees to her chest, resting her arms on them.

"She's right, Serena," said Mina cheerfully. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were on a date yesterday."

"I was NOT on a date! Look, I went to a funeral with someone who was REALLY sad. I wanted to comfort him," she pouted.

Mina and Lita exchanged glances, before grinning evilly at their friend. "Him?" they asked in unison.

Groaning, Serena tried to hide her head. "It. . . it wasn't like that. . ."

"Oh, no? Then what's up with the spacing out?"

"And running your fingers across your lips. . . Almost as if you were thinking of kissing someone. . ."

"Guys, leave me alone! It's none of your business!"

"We're your best friends, of course it's our business!"

"Yeah, what do you think, Ames? Shouldn't she tell us who she went to this 'funeral' with?"

Slowly, Ami's blue eyes raised to stare at her friends. Clearing her throat, she set her textbook aside. After contemplating a minute, she shrugged indifferently. "I suppose I would like to know what all the fuss is about. . . though, it IS her life. Still, we're her closest friends, and it would be most polite of her to report to us of her activities outside of school hours, especially when pertaining to a love interest."

Serena glared at her and drawled sarcastically, "Thank you SO much for your help, AMES."

Smiling innocently, Ami folded her hands in her lap and waited along with Mina and Lita. Serena looked between the three of them, before smacking her head hard against the tree.

"Fine! I. . . I was at a funeral with. . . Darien."

A silence draped over them as Serena waited patiently for their reactions. Eventually, Lita cleared her throat, running a hand through her thick bangs.

"Uh. . . you all heard Darien. . . too, right?"

She was greeted with mute nods.

Rolling her eyes, Serena began explaining, "A couple days ago I ran into him and he was really distraught because a close friend of his had died, so I offered to go the funeral with him and. . . comfort him while he was there."

"Are we still talking about Darien?" Mina asked slowly.

"YES! We are talking about Darien, alright!"

"I thought you hated Darien. . ." muttered Ami.

Sighing, Serena's shoulders dropped in regret. "I do not hate him. I never. . . 'hated' him. We just. . . argued a lot. . ."

A silence passed over them again. Finally, Lita tilted her head to the side. "So what's the deal with you two now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well. . . are you friends. . . CLOSE friends. . . or. . . MORE than friends?"

A lump settled into Serena's throat. Looking down on the soft grass below her, she shrugged. "I. . . don't know."

"What do you mean 'you don't know'? Did he ask you out?"

Shaking her head, Serena closed her eyes. "No, he didn't. But. . . he. . . he did. . ."

"He did. . . what?" asked Mina impatiently, unconsciously leaning forward.

"He k. . .kissed me."

"WHAT!"

Burying her head in her arms, Serena waited for them to calm down.

"When? Where?"

"How many times?"

"Did you like it?"

Holding up her hands, she successfully silenced them all, somewhat surprised that even Ami had become excited about the gossip. "I am NOT going to go into detail, that would be wrong! He kissed me after the funeral, once in his apartment, once in the hallway, and YES I liked it! Now, if you'll excuse me. . . I have to go prepare for an algebra test next period." Standing, Serena brushed off her skirt and began walking away.

Not long after though, she felt someone grabbing her hand. Turning, she saw that the three had followed her, and Mina now stood at her side, grinning happily.

"Serena, even though Darien is the last guy I ever thought you'd fall for, I have to say that I think you two would be very cute together!"

"Me too," added Lita, nodding. "And don't worry too much about whether you two are an item. I'm sure he's noticed what a great girl you are!"

"And besides, if he kissed you. . . then I'd say you're already close enough to dating," finished Ami.

Serena smiled at each of them happily. "Thanks a ton, you guys! That means a lot!"

Turning, they all began walking back to the school building.

"Just. . . make sure to invite us to the wedding!" Mina couldn't resist teasing. 


	5. Chapter 5

Saying Goodbye to Dorothy Smith - Chapter 5  
Alicia Blade

The epilogue will be up shortly. Enjoy!

* * *

Walking into his apartment, Darien slipped off his shoes and dropped the large box containing the tea set onto his coffee table. Rubbing his temples, he sighed, collapsing onto the sofa.

'The ring. . . she gave me the ring. . .' he thought to himself. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the small velvet box, falling down into a lying position. He opened the small container, taking the ring between his fingers.

He twirled it slowly, watching it glow in the light from different angles. It was an extraordinary ring. So perfect and beautiful. . . He couldn't believe it was his now. . . And he could only think of one other person to give it to.

'But would she take it? Wouldn't that be moving too fast for her? She's only 14 years old, I couldn't possible give her an ENGAGEMENT ring. I mean, we rarely even talked up to two days ago. Who cares if I've been in love with her for months. . .'

Closing his eyes, he let these thoughts take him away, until another voice tore into his train of thought.

"I think she would take it. In fact, I know she would be thrilled to receive a ring from you! She's in love with you, you know."

His eyes snapping open, Darien sat up to see an old woman rocking back and forth on his large reclining chair.

"D. . .Dorothy?"

"Hello, Darien. Bet you thought you'd gotten rid of me, didn't you?"

"Wha. . .? How?"

"Oh never mind the 'whats' and 'hows,' they make no difference you know. I've come here to talk to you about something of great importance, and I want you to listen good."

Gulping, Darien tossed his legs over the side of the couch, feeling the carpet beneath his feet.

"Y. . .Yeah?"

She stared at him for a moment, before rolling her eyes. "Didn't I teach you better manners than this! You should have offered me a cup of tea by now."

Slowly, a grin spread over Darien's lips. Shaking his head, he stood and opened the large box, pulling out two teacups. "You haven't changed one bit, Dorothy."

"Would you want me to?"

Not bothering to answer her question, he walked into his kitchen, starting up a pot of tea. From behind the island, he could see her stand and wander around the apartment, looking at the books on his shelves, picking up a couple trinkets off the tables.

"You're still growing roses, I see," she remarked, noticing the many plants out on the balcony.

Finally, the tea was done. He fixed a cup the way she liked it, walking back to the living room and handing it to her carefully.

"Thank you so much, dear. Now, take a seat so we can discuss the matter of. . . er. . . this princess of yours."

Taking a deep breath, Darien could already feel a blush beginning to tint his cheeks. She always could make him do that, especially when talking about girls.

"Wha. . .what about her?"

"Well, to begin with, when did you meet her?"

He sighed, claiming a seat on the sofa and staring up at the ceiling. "We met about six months ago. . . at an arcade."

"An arcade? What's a bright young man like you doing at an arcade?"

"Well, my best friend works there. Um. . . Andrew. . . I told you a bit about him."

"Ah yes, I remember that now. He seems like a nice boy by your description. But, we're already getting sidetracked. You know how easily I lose my train of thought. Anyhow. . . you met her half a year ago, you say?"

Darien nodded, sipping at his drink. 'This brings back memories,' he thought silently.

"And how long have you two been going out?"

Coughing suddenly at the surprising question, he set his cup down on the table, clearing his throat. Finally regaining his voice, he managed, "Well. . . you see, Dorothy. . . it's like this. We. . . we're NOT going out. . ." he said, then mumbled to himself, "unfortunately."

She laughed loudly. "Well you sure could have fooled me! You two were so close yesterday, I find it very hard to believe you're not a couple. Besides. . . didn't you kiss her?"

Choking slightly again, Darien could feel the blush grow darker. "Well. . . that was. . . uh. . . how did you know about that?"

"Oh, dear Darien, I've been watching you the past few days. I wanted to make sure you would be alright before I completely crossed over to the next world. Now. . . if I'm not mistaken. . . I believe she kissed you back, aren't I right?"

Sighing, Darien leaned back again, remembering her lips so gently caressing his own, and then. . . not so gently. "I. . . don't know. . . all I know is that. . . it was the most incredible feeling. . ."

Dorothy sighed, her eyes glazing over. "Well, I DO know. Darien, Ms. Serena is an absolutely lovely girl, I can see why you are in love with her. I have already seen how happy she makes you, not to mention how happy you make her. You truly are a match made in heaven. So, don't you worry if she's not in love with you, because I tell you, she is! And I'm never wrong, you know," she added with a wink.

Darien chuckled, nodding his head. She was right, he remembered. Dorothy was known for never being wrong. Sighing, he closed his eyes, picturing his joyous meatball head. "I certainly hope she's in love with me, Dorothy. Serena is. . . perfect. She's exactly what I've always wanted, always. . . needed. . . She's something special."

"Well, don't you go forgetting that YOU'RE something special too. Any girl would be lucky to have you speak of her that way. . . and Serena is no different. I'm sure she realizes that. I could see it in her eyes when she looked at you. She is your princess, and believe me when I say that YOU are her prince."

An inescapable grin crossed his lips at Dorothy's words. "Thank you."

"For nothing! Oh, well look at the time, I should be going, you know."

Furrowing his brow, Darien watched as she stood up again, heading for the door.

"Wait!"

Turning, she stared at him. He jumped up from the couch, walking over to his close friend. "Dorothy. . . I. . . I do have to thank you for the. . . the ring. . . and. . . the advice too. . ."

She grinned, patting his cheek as a mother would. Then she stopped, taking a step back and furrowing her brow. "And since when did you get so tall?" she accused, making Darien laugh.

"Must have happened overnight!"

She smiled amusedly. "Oh, Darien. You do deserve the very best. And it looks to me like you've found her."

Taking a deep breath, Darien wrapped the plump woman in a giant bear hug. She giggled, hugging him back.

"Good bye, Dorothy. . ." he whispered, tears coming to his eyes. She shook her head, pulling apart slightly. "Now none of that! I'm not leaving, not yet at least. You said that you had always wished I would be at your wedding. Now I'm telling you, dear, that I WILL be at that wedding, if I have to fight hell and high waters to get there! Even if you can't see me, I'll be right in the front row, smiling proudly. But. . . you can't have a wedding without proposing first!"

Darien blushed again, tears starting to roll down his cheeks. Looking away, he whispered, "I don't know if I can. . ."

"Sure you can. I assure you. . . she will say yes. She loves you Darien. If you don't believe me. . . ask her yourself. Now, there's a girl waiting for you, and I'm taking up your time. Go get her!"

Before Darien knew what she was doing, Dorothy reached up a hand and knocked hard on his forehead.

* * *

"HUH?" he yelled, sitting up straight. He soon found himself sitting on the couch, gasping for breath. Slowly, he laid down again, staring up at the ceiling. "It was a dream. . . wasn't it?"

Closing his eyes, he let his body relax.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

His eyes sprung open at the sound.

"So that's what woke me up. . ." he whispered to himself. Standing, he rubbed his hand through his hair, walking to the door.

The second he opened it, a bouncing girl collided into him full speed, throwing her arms around his neck. He yelped in surprise, his arms nervously tying around her waist, one hand unconsciously pushing the door shut. Finally, he brought himself to look down on a head of long, golden hair tied into two meatballs.

"Serena? What. . . what are you doing here?"

With an ear to ear grin, Serena pulled away from him, holding up a folded piece of paper. "I brought you a surprise. Look!"

With one arm still holding her tightly to his chest, the other took the paper from her grasp. Unfolding it slowly, he looked down on the open piece of paper. His eyes widened, his jaw dropped noticeably. Somewhere in the corner of his mind he could hear Serena giggling.

"Ninety. . . ninety-two! You got 92 percent?"

"Yup! I got an A, Darien, and I owe it all to you!"

Lowering his stare from the paper, he looked down on her pale blue eyes, so full of life.

"Serena. . . this. . . this is so wonderful! I'm so happy for you. . ." On instinct, he bent down, kissing her tender lips powerfully. She gasped in surprise, before leaning forward as well, her eyes drifting closed. Her mind swam in a million different emotions, and she delighted in every one of them before finally he pulled away from her. Sighing, she let her head fell onto his shoulder, burying into the crook of his neck as she breathed in his scent.

Wrapping his other arm around her slim waist, he kissed her forehead gently. "Sorry Serena, it's just. . . when you're so close, it's awfully tempting. . ." he whispered.

She giggled below him and he could feel her tilt her head up and kiss his neck tenderly. "But I like it when you kiss me," she said, equally quiet.

Unable to hold back the large grin boiling through him, he looked down on her, seeing her gorgeous eyes gazing back up at him. Bending down, he lightly brushed her lips with his own, before lying a single butterfly kiss on her temple. "Good, then I plan on kissing you a lot more. . ." She giggled at his statement and he leaned his head on top of hers. "Serena, I'm so proud of you."

"When I was taking the test, at first I couldn't remember a thing, but then I closed my eyes and I could hear your voice telling me what to do, and it all made sense. I remembered everything you told me yesterday."

Smiling, Darien held her tighter, opening his eyes. Everything felt right with the world. Then, his stare stopped on something sitting on his coffee table. Well, two things, actually. Other than the large box, two teacups, still half full, were sitting innocently on the wood surface. Furrowing his eyebrow, he tensed unconsciously, remembering how they got there.

Serena, feeling his change, looked up at his face. "Darien, what's wrong?" she asked, seeing his look of astonishment. Following his gaze, she saw a large box on his table, along with two pretty teacups, filled with half-drunken tea. "Darien? Did you have company?"

Shaking his head slowly, he released his hold on her, walking over to the table. She followed behind him expectantly. "Darien, what is it? Were you expecting someone or. . ."

Closing his eyes, he let the smile tug at his lips. Turning again, he looked down on Serena with a loving gaze. "It's a long story, and not important," he said, taking one of her hands to her lips and kissing her knuckle softly. Her confused gaze quickly turned to one of admiration.

Ignoring the blush creeping onto her pale skin, Serena looked down at the cups again. "It's a very pretty set. Have you had it long?"

"No. . . about 2 hours, actually."

Furrowing her brow, she looked at him from the corner of her eye. Then, her gaze filled with understanding and she stood up straighter. "How WAS the will reading?"

Sighing, he picked up the cups, taking them into the kitchen to be washed. "It wasn't too bad. Would have liked it more if you were there, though."

She grinned secretly at his loving comment. "What else did you get?"

After setting the cups into the sink, Darien cleared his throat somewhat nervously, remembering the ring in his pocket. "Oh, just the set and a couple other. . . small things," he said vaguely, hoping she wouldn't continue her questioning. He was in luck as she turned her attention to the set again.

"Is that. . . the tea set you and Dorothy. . ."

"Yup, that's the one we always used," he said with a sigh, turning back to her. She stared at him a moment, not sure of what to say or do. Their new relationship was still so unsure to both of them, still somewhat awkward.

Finally, Darien reached out his arms and a smile crossed her face as she threw herself into his embrace. Sighing, Darien wrapped his arms around her, drowning in her sweet, feminine scent.

"Oh, Serena. . ." he whispered into her hair. "I don't want to think about any of that right now. I only want to think of you. . . this gorgeous angel who just happens to be in my arms. . ." Craning his neck, he rested his forehead on hers. She giggled quietly, meeting his gaze. Reaching up one finger, he traced it along her ear and jaw line. "You're so perfect. You're absolutely incredible. You know. . . I don't deserve to be with you. . ."

"Hm?" she started in surprise. "Darien, that's not true, you. . ." She was silenced by his lips teasing hers, and melted into his arms. When finally he pulled apart, he was holding her even tighter.

"Though I sure am glad I have you," he concluded. He held her for a few moments longer, his thoughts continuously drawn back to the small velvet box in his pocket. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. "Serena. . . there. . . there's something I want to ask you though. . . Something. . . kind of important. . ."

She raised her ever innocent eyes to his, smiling at him curiously. "What is it?"

Clearing his throat nervously, he looked down on her. "Not. . . not here, though."

"Huh?"

Grabbing her hand, Darien walked out of the kitchen. In the living room, he realized he was still holding her test paper and handed it back to her. "You should keep this to show to your parents," he said while slipping on his shoes. She folded it up neatly and placed it into her pocket, before she felt Darien's hand secure around her wrist, and she was dragged outside.

* * *

"Do you come to the park a lot?" Serena asked, leaning up against Darien, their fingers laced together.

He sighed, looking up at the large trees casting painted shadows over them. "Yeah, it's nice when I need to think, or just relax."

"Where's your favorite place to go here?"

"The rose gardens."

She giggled slightly. "I should have guessed."

His grip tightened slightly for an instant, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing her palm gingerly, before resting it at his side again. Serena smiled happily, leaning up against his shoulder. They walked in silence a little while, listening to birds and children in the distance. Finally, Darien broke it, asking, "Serena, when's your birthday?"

"Hm? Uh. . . June 30th. Why?"

"So your birthstone would be. . . the alexandrite, wouldn't it?" She laughed awkwardly. "I guess, but those are too expensive. The more traditional stone is the pearl, it's what people give me mostly. Then there's also the mythological stone, which is the moonstone. And then. . . er. . . I'm sorry, Darien, that was probably too much information, wasn't it?"

Darien was no longer paying attention, his free hand clenched around the small velvet box in his pocket. Beneath his breath, he mumbled, "It's simply too perfect. . ."

"Darien, what is it? What's wrong? Why did you bring me out here? What do you want to ask me? Darien?"

Sighing, Darien stopped in the middle of the path to stare at her concerned blue eyes. She gulped, turning to face him completely. Biting his lower lip, he closed his eyes, attempting to gather his senses, all the while wondering if he had the courage to go through with this. Suddenly, he felt two gentle fingers trace down his jaw. Opening his eyes, he smiled down on her.

"Did I do something?" she asked quietly, her voice shaking nervously.

He knew he needed her in his life, the pain and pleasure in his heart told him that. But it would still be difficult, there was no escaping the fearsome worries that she wouldn't. . . he couldn't think of that.

"Yeah, Serena. . . you did something."

Her eyes immediately filled with regret, sorrow, and fear. She thought her entire being was trembling. What had she done to make him act so distant all the sudden? After the past few days, she thought everything was going so well, and now. . .

"Oh, Darien, I'm so sorry," she said, just above a whisper, afraid that if she spoke any louder her voice would crack and dry in her throat. "Whatever I did, I'm sure I didn't mean to, I know it was an accident, and. . ."

Her rambling was caught short by gentle lips teasing her own.

Darien stood closer to her, breaking free from her kisses, his hands resting on her hips as her dazed face looked up at him in confused silence. "You made me fall in love with you, Serena," he whispered so that only she could hear him.

The look in his eyes was enough to make her melt, to make her every limb collapse beneath her, but the words uttered so tenderly shocked her to unbelievable awareness.

"Wha. . .?" she uttered disbelieving.

Inhaling deeply, Darien took her hands into his and led her over to a wooden bench on the side of the path, forcing her to sit down as he paced slowly in front of her. Her ears rang of the subtle statement as she stared straight ahead, paying no heed to the fidgety man before her.

"You love me?" she whispered slowly, letting the words hang on her lips. The full impact of that sank into her mind, until a smile creased her lips, making her realize exactly the importance of his confession. A picture evolved in her mind of holding his hand, watching the sun set, sharing secret kisses and caresses, declaring their love occasionally to break the comfortable silence.

Snapping from her lovely daydream, she noticed that he had kneeled in front of her, his hands resting on the bench, on either side of her legs as his deep blue eyes stared into hers with hope.

"I never imagined. . . I would be lucky enough to hear you say that," she finally managed to admit, her eyes shining in a love of their own.

Darien grinned, inhaling a deep breath. "Serena. . ." he whispered, more to himself than the girl before him. "I don't know exactly how to say this, I've never really said it to anyone, and I'm afraid I'll say the wrong thing and lose you, but. . . but you're here now, and you have to know. I. . . I love you. I have loved you from the moment we met, since the moment I laid eyes on you, since the moment I heard your beautiful, chiming laugh. And the past couple days I've only wanted you more, needed you. . . more. . ."

Serena sighed with happiness, almost not believing her ears. Had it not been a week ago that she was nothing more than his secret admirer? And then, he had been hers as well. It was all too perfect. Happy tears began to build at the corners of her eyes. For a moment, she was choking on happiness, on tears, on air, before she managed to stutter, "Darien, I love you too."

Darien froze. His head had bent down, trying to think of what to say, how to go about asking her to. . . be his wife. And then, her quiet words broke all chain of thought. Looking up, he saw her gazing down on him, a smile on her lips, tears glistening in her eyes. After a moment of hopeful thinking, he allowed the worried frown to curve into a delighted grin. She loved him. It was remarkable how very much that helped his cause.

"But Darien. . ." she continued in a whisper. "That's. . . not a question," she stated matter-of-factly. He chuckled for a moment before again searching his mind for the correct words to say.

Taking in a deep breath, he began. "Serena. . . I know you're still very young, probably too young for what I'm about to ask you. And you can say that you want to wait, I'd have no problem with that at all, as. . . long as you say yes. And Serena, if you say yes, I swear I'm going to burst with happiness, which may not sound very pleasant, but. . . Anyway, Serena, I love you. I've always loved you, even before we met, which makes no sense, obviously, but you see, I used to have dreams of a girl just like you, a princess, actually, and I always knew I loved her. . . so. . . so I know I always loved you. . . And I know that all of this is happening so very fast, that we weren't even close up to a few days ago, but you said that you loved me, and I know I love you, and so I guess it really shouldn't matter how fast it all happens, as long as we're both happy, right? And you make me so very happy, and I know given the chance I could make you equally happy. And. . . I. . . I want to spend the rest of my life doing just that. I want to spend every waking moment of the rest of my life. . . with you. . ." his voice dropped to a steady whisper as he stared up at her eyes, overwhelmed in emotions. "I want to. . . to wake up with you every morning, and fall asleep with you every night, and. . . and. . . I want to introduce you to everyone I meet as my. . . fiancé. . . and after that, my. . . wife."

Serena furrowed her eyebrows slightly. "What. . . do you. . .?"

"Serena. . . will you marry me?" he whispered, almost inaudibly. "Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

As she stared in awe, he reached into his pocket, producing a small black box. Opening it, he showed her a gorgeous ring of her own birthstone, the alexadrite, and a green tinted stone, surrounded in rings of small diamonds. Dizziness suddenly overcame her and she grasped at the edge of the wooden seat, trying to breathe calmly. She watched Darien purse his lips together, and gulp as if his throat were tied into knots. She felt the same way. A warm tear streaking slowly down her cheek seemed to be the only sign that this wasn't a dream. Even then, she hardly believed it.

Another image appeared in her mind's eye. She stood in a flowing white gown, looking down an aisle of roses. At the end Darien stood in a black tuxedo, grinning adoringly back at her. Her friends and family stood off to the side, her father with a small, but gentle smile, and her mother crying with pride, sadness, and joy.

"Yes. . ." she said, her unsteady voice cracking slightly. Darien, who had been staring at her with more fear by the moment, raised his eyebrows, just barely. Happiness began to cloud the deep blue gaze, though he dared not smile. "Yes," she repeated, more forcefully this time. Finally, a wide grin spread across her face and she pushed herself off the bench, falling to her knees and into his arms. "YES!" she screamed, then again and again. "Of course I'll marry you, of course I'll be your wife!"

Darien stared into space a long moment, before finally, slowly wrapping his arms around her. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could hear her chattering still, jumping from 'I love you' to 'I'm getting married' to 'What color will the bride's maids' dresses be?' and back to 'I love you' again. His lips curved upward gently and he closed his eyes, picturing himself 50 years from now, sitting next to Serena, his beautiful wife, holding her hand, drinking lemonade on a warm day, and watching their 15 grandchildren play happily in the sunshine.

The woman of his dreams loved him, and was now. . . his fiancé. Darien, the man who could never get close to anyone, had a fiancé. He never imagined how wonderful that would feel.

With a smile that made his jaw hurt, he pulled her away shortly, before pushing his lips to hers in a strong and powerful kiss, holding her to his body with every ounce of strength he contained. Her fragile hands held onto him just as powerfully, grasping at the material of his shirt, squeezing his shoulders almost roughly, as if he minded. After prying away from her sweet, ruby red lips, Darien led a trail of butterfly kisses down her cheek, her neck, her shoulder, her collarbone, kissing every inch of skin he could find in reach. Finally, he settled with simply holding her, burying his face into her golden hair and breathing in her deliciously ethereal scent. Pulling back slightly, he reached for her arm, still tied about his shoulders. Pulling her hand down in front of his chest, he slid the ring onto its appropriate finger, kissing the glistening stones once. Her eyes twinkled at him lovingly, and he didn't think he could stop grinning if he tried. Tying his arms around her again, he closed his eyes, whispering into her ear,

"I love you, future Mrs. Darien Chiba."

She giggled and he knew she was blushing. For the first time, he also realized that people had stopped in the park to watch them, smiling with dreamy looks. It only made him feel even luckier. "I love you too."

He held her close to his chest, his eyelids closed lightly. They fit into each other's arms perfectly, like pieces to a puzzle that had finally found their match. Eventually allowing his eyes to open, he looked up into a pale blue, sun-filled sky. Instantly, a bright light filled the sky in front of him and he was forced to squint to see through it, until a blurred shadow seemed to drown out the blinding flare. As his eyes became accustomed, he saw the familiar, smiling face of Dorothy Smith. Her emerald eyes glowed with pride and happiness, laughing slightly. As he watched, he noticed her wink slyly at him, a mischievous grin tilting the corners of her lips, before holding two thumbs up. He couldn't help but chuckle, only holding Serena tighter and leaning his head on hers. Looking on, he saw another shape, this of a man, come up and wrap his arm about Dorothy's waist. She turned in his embrace, holding him gently and giving him a small peck on the cheek. They seemed to talk for a minute, Dorothy gesturing to Darien a few times, before the both of them gave him genuine smiles of happiness. Turning, arms still wrapped around each other, they walked together into the light.

'Goodbye, Dorothy.'


	6. Epilogue

Title: Saying Goodbye to Dorothy Smith - Epilogue  
Alicia Blade

Reviews always welcome and appreciated!

* * *

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Darien muttered beneath his breath, straightening his blazer. Serena giggled, holding onto his arm tighter than she already was.

"Are you sure you're ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," he said uncertainly, staring at the door as if it would spring forward and attack him at any minute.

"Don't worry, sweetie, everything will be fine, you'll see. They'll love you! Just. . . like. . . me. . ."

He forced a small grin, looking down on her happy face, into her cerulean blue eyes. "You really think they'll like me?"

"Of course! But remember, we're just dating. If my parents found out I was engaged, my dad would blow a gasket and Mom would probably faint."

Darien chuckled lightly. "Alright, just dating."

"Are you nervous?" she asked quietly, fixing a wrinkle in his tie.

"A little. Well, okay, a lot."

"Why? There's nothing to be afraid of."

"Well. . . it's just. . . I've never met your dad before and I'm afraid that I'll make a bad impression. . . And I haven't seen your mom since the day of the funeral and we were just friends back then, so. . ."

Giggling, Serena pulled his head down, lying a soft kiss on his lips. He stared at her, a bit surprised, before smiling lovingly. "What was that for?"

"I think it's absolutely wonderful that you want my parents to love you. It's so sweet!"

He laughed, tying his arms tighter around her waste. "It's just that. . . when we finally DO tell them the good news. . . I want to have your father's blessing. I want them to like me and know that I do love you and that I'm going to take care of you. I mean, you hear about families on TV all the time where the parents absolutely hate the son-in-law and then their daughter is forced to choose between them and. . . I don't want that to happen to you. You deserve nothing but complete happiness in your life."

Her blue eyes glazed over in pure delight, her arms wrapping around his neck, toying gently with his hair. "Don't worry Darien, they'll love you, I know they will. I have a back up plan in case they don't." She winked at him slyly, a mischievous smile taunting her lips. He responded by raising a curious eyebrow, before realizing it didn't matter and chuckling slightly.

"Well in that case, I guess there's no sense in standing out on the porch all day, right?"

"Yup! I'm getting hungry, and I'm pretty sure Mom was gonna mix up some of her world famous chow mien casserole!"

"Ooh, sounds delicious."

Stealing one last kiss from her fiancé, Serena turned to face the door again, placing her hand on the doorknob, before pausing. "Oh, yeah, and one more thing, love."

"What's that?"

She turned to face him, staring into his deep eyes. "If ever I did have to make the choice between you and my family, I would choose my husband without a second thought."

And on that serious note, leaving Darien somewhat stunned, they walked hand in hand into the house.

"Mom, I'm home!" Serena called, slipping off her shoes. Darien followed her example, gulping nervously. They walked into the living room and his eyes began analyzing the homey feel to it all. The house was warm and caring, filled with love. Family pictures and meaningful trinkets littered every available table space.

How he yearned to belong here.

"Hi, sweetheart," said a new voice. Darien looked up to see Serena's mom walking into the living room wearing an apron and carrying a wooden spoon. "You're home just in time, dinner's almost ready." She gave her daughter a quick hug before looking up at the guest. "Oh, hello Darien, it's so nice to see you again!" she said with the same love in her voice she had for her daughter.

Darien was about to respond politely when she gave him a simple friendly hug, kissing his cheek gently. "I'm so glad Serena finally decided to bring you to dinner. She never stops talking about you, you know."

Darien blushed slightly, beginning to stutter a "Hello, thanks for letting me join you" when a buzzer sounded in the kitchen.

"Oh, there's dinner. Serena, why don't you take his coat, and then come join us at the table." And with that, she disappeared back through the door she had come through.

With a wide smile, Serena looked at her boyfriend lovingly. "See, no problem. One down and one to go. Here, I have to take your coat now."

He finally managed a smile, happy that her mother was so kind, before slipping off his jacket and handing it to the bouncing blond. She returned a few moments later, threading their fingers together and leading him into a fairly large dining room. He gulped as he peered inside. There was a man in his late thirties sitting at the end of the table, a young boy in the chair across from him, both eagerly waiting for dinner to be set on the table.

Feeling Serena tense, just slightly, next to him didn't help Darien's composure much. He gulped, attempting to remain calm as he and Serena walked into the room. The man looked up immediately, the smile on his face fading when his eyes met Darien.

"Who are you?"

"Daddy, this is the guy I was telling you about, Darien Chiba, my boyfriend. Darien, meet my dad."

Stepping forward, Darien extended his hand mannerly. "Pleasure to meet you Mr. Tsu. . ."

"What is the meaning of this, you are too old to be dating my daughter. Get out of my house!" he yelled, standing up from the table briskly.

Darien's eyes widened and he quickly took a step back, coiling his arm to his side.

"Dad! Be nice! He is not too old for me, he's a very nice man. You don't even know him and if you'd listen. . ."

"No, it's bad enough you're dating at all, I will not put up with some creep who's 10 years older than you. You are still a little child, Serena!"

"I am NOT a little child, and besides, he's only 5 years older. . ."

"FIVE YEARS! No, no way, no how. Get that man out of. . ."

"Ken Benjamin Tsukino, you listen to your daughter!" screeched Ilene, coming angrily into the dining room. "You are going to treat Mr. Chiba as a guest or you'll be sleeping on the couch for a week!"

"I'll sleep on the couch for a month, but I assure you my daughter will not continue to see this arrogant, egotistical, lustful. . ."

Darien stood back and watched silently as Ken bickered with his wife. He could see anger boiling inside of Serena. Slowly, he laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, feeling her immediately begin to relax at his touch.

"Maybe I should go," he whispered in her ear. She looked back up at him, shaking her head.

"Wait a little while, okay?"

Taking a deep breath, he let his shoulders drop. Again, his attention turned to the stereotyped accusations on himself. At the table, Sammy continued to sit and stare innocently.

When she had finally had enough, Serena reached into her pocket, pulling out her back up plan. "Dad, LOOK!" she screeched, handing him the piece of paper.

He took a careless glance down, looked up at his wife, yelled for a moment longer, then froze. Slowly, his gaze lowered to the paper again, and he began shaking.

"Wha. . .what's this?"

"That's yesterday's math test. MY math test."

"But. . . it says. . . 94. . . T. . .tell me this is 94 out of 500 or something. . ."

"No daddy, it's 94 percent. I got an A. And all because DARIEN believed in me and offered to tutor me when no one else would. You have him to thank for that grade, and not to mention the past 4 tests I've brought home. Do you remember those, Daddy? First a 92, then an 86, an 81, 90, and now THIS. You should be praising Darien for the change!"

Ken stared at the paper for a moment longer, slowly raising his disbelieving eyes to his daughter, then the worried and frightened man next to her. His eyes repeated this circle a few times, before finally slamming his fist down on the table, a grin pulling over his face.

"Well then, by golly, pull up a chair! Heck, if you'll get her past high school, I'll let you marry my daughter!" Laughing, he sat down in his chair, looking over the test paper in awe.

Darien and Serena exchanged glances, grateful, and trying their hardest not to laugh at her oblivious father's comment.

"Ilene! Let's bring Mr. Chiba some food, hurry it up! Hey, would you like a cigar? One of the finest! Actually, I don't smoke, and you'd better not either or I've got a word or two for you, but I think we still have some of the chocolate cigars. Sammy, do you know what we did with those?"

He continued to babble unconsciously as Serena and Darien took their places at the table, hands laced together beneath the white lace cloth, unknowing to the others.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Darien muttered beneath his breath, straightening his blazer. Serena giggled, holding onto his arm tighter than she already was.

"Are you sure you're ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," he said uncertainly, staring at the door as if it would spring forward and attack him at any minute.

"Don't worry, sweetie, everything will be fine, you'll see. They love you! Just. . . like. . . me. . ."

He forced a small grin, looking down on her happy face, into her cerulean blue eyes. "But do you really think they like me THAT much?"

"Of course! Darien, we've been dating for two years. It's about time they found out we're engaged. We have to tell them sooner or later."

Darien sighed, lowering his head slightly. "Serena. . . I know that, it's just. . . to them you're still a little girl. You're only 16, hardly old enough to be planning a wedding. . . and. . . I just really, REALLY want your parents' blessing. I want them to think of me as their son, not as the guy who stole their little girl away."

Giggling lovingly, Serena wrapped her arms around his neck, waiting for his hold to inevitably tighten around her in response. Once they were wrapped in each other's embrace, she inhaled his scent, the cologne so familiar, and yet dazing her senses like it had the first time he'd worn it. Tilting her head up, she smiled gently, kissing his lips in tenderness.

"Darien, they already love you. They have since the day you met. Even Sammy is crazy about you! And furthermore, they know I love you. They had to at least be expecting that I would want to spend the rest of my life with you. They'll be happy I found true love so early, and believe me, we will have their blessing. Nothing is ever going to keep us apart." Kissing his cheek, she let one hand drop to a chain around her neck. Her engagement ring hung around it, always close to her heart. "And besides, now I can FINALLY wear this around them!" she added on a happier note.

Grinning now himself, only traces of his nervousness showing, Darien reached around her neck, pulling the necklace off of her. Unsnapping the clasp, he slipped the ring off, before once again placing the chain around her neck. Pulling her left hand to his chest, he slipped the ring on its appropriate finger, kissing it gently.

"There, just where it always should be," he whispered, lying a soft butterfly kiss on her smiling lips.

"And always will be from now on," she whispered with equal affection. They kissed again, a bit longer than the last, her hands once again returning to their position around his neck.

"Are you two just gonna stand out there making out all day? The neighbors are gonna be sick!"

Laughing, Serena and Darien pulled apart. Pivoting around in her fiancé's arms, Serena quickly smacked Sammy on the head, only hard enough that he flinched slightly, glaring at her in good nature, before turning to look at the tall man with his arms wrapped around his sister's waist.

"Hey, didn't I tell you that if you got fresh with my sis I'd have to kick your. . ."

"Is Dad home?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, him and mom are in the living room."

"Great, come on, Darien." Serena grabbed onto his hand, leading him into the house that now actually felt more like a second home to Darien. Walking past the short sandy haired boy, Darien shook his head at Sammy's cute over-protectiveness. Of course, Sammy looked at Darien like an older brother, a complete role model, and knew he would never actually do anything to his sister, but he still liked to kid him about it. Grinning down on the 13-year-old kid, Darien slapped him a few high fives as he was pulled into the next room.

"Hello Serena! Hi Darien! Come watch some Jeopardy with us," called Ilene as soon as she saw the two walk through the front door.

"Hi mom, dad. Actually. . . could we turn that off for a minute, Darien and I have something kind of important to tell you."

She glanced back at the man with his fingers laced through hers, the dark blue eyes quickly filling with nervousness. "Now?" he mouthed to her silently. She nodded her head, squeezing his hand reassuringly.

"Can't it wait? They just got to round two!" her dad said, eagerly awaiting the line of questions on 'famous cover stories'. He WAS a reporter, after all, and couldn't wait to show off his vast knowledge of the quizzical world.

"I don't think this one can wait, Daddy," said Serena, finally slipping her palm from Darien's grasp and walking over to the TV, flipping it off before turning to face the rest of her family. Sammy, who had followed them in, instantly claimed a spot on the couch, next to her mom. Ken set the remote down, and Ilene set the magazine she'd been reading during commercials on the coffee table.

"Well what is it, dear?"

Serena looked up at Darien, signaling for him to come over to her. He took a deep breath, walking to the center of the family room and placing an arm around her waist, making unsure eye contact with her family. They watched them anxiously.

"Well. . . Mom, Dad, Sammy. . . we. . . um. . . well. . ." she looked up at Darien, who offered little help, save a patient smile. She took a deep breath. "Darien proposed to me and I said yes. We're going to get married."

His arm tightened around her waist as she let the rest of the breath out quickly.

Her parents stared at her silently for a minute. Then two minutes. Five minutes. . .

"Mom? Dad?"

Ilene cleared her throat slightly. "Uh. . . you're. . . engaged?"

"Yes, Mommy."

"Ah. . ." she said, breathing in deeply.

There was another long moment of quiet, before her father spoke up, surprisingly calm.

"Are you sure that is what you want, Serena? It's a life changing decision, and a huge commitment. Do you think you're ready for it?"

Sighing in relief that he hadn't gone into hysterics, Serena nodded her head vigorously. "Yes, I'm sure of it! I love Darien with all my heart and want to be with him forever, I know that."

Darien gulped, still looking between her and her parents. Finally, he cleared his throat. "Um. . . Ken, Ilene. . . I know she's still very young and I'm sure you were expecting her to. . . wait a bit longer until, really, even considering marriage. But. . . I can assure you that I will provide for her, and take care of her. I love your daughter more than I love myself, and will do anything humanly possible to keep her healthy and. . . happy. All I ask. . . is for your blessing on the wedding and marriage. I hope that. . . that's not asking too much."

Ken looked down, eyeing the floor, his hands ringing almost roughly in his lap. Finally, he let his palms relax and looked up at the couple again. Stealing a quick glance at his own wife, who looked somewhat pale, a mix of shock, happiness, and fear mixed into one. Gulping, he looked directly into Darien's eyes. "If I don't have to spend too much money on the wedding, you have my blessing," he said, a somewhat forced smile dawning on his features. Then with a more serious undertone, he added, "Darien, I know you love my little girl. And though it's hard for me to imagine anyone taking her away from me, I'm glad she chose you."

"Yes, I agree with your father. Serena, you're still very young, but you've matured a great deal the past few years and I believe you can make your own decisions now. As long as you're happy, I am too. You have my blessing, also."

Slowly, a smile broke on Serena's face, her blue eyes widening in great happiness. "Oh. . . thank you!" she squealed, running forward to give her parents large bear hugs. After squeezing them each to death, she ran back to her now 'official' fiancé, wrapping her arms around his waist. He returned the favor, a shocked grin still on his face, before looking down on her and pressing his lips to hers.

In the back of his mind, he could hear Sammy asking, "Does this mean I have to wear a tux?"

* * *

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Darien muttered beneath his breath, straightening his tuxedo jacket. Andrew chuckled from behind him, his hands casually relaxed in his pockets.

"Honestly, I can't either. Are you sure you're ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," his best friend replied uncertainly, staring awkwardly down the white aisle before him.

"Don't worry, Dar, everything will be fine! You guys have been engaged for how many years now?"

"Three, though only one according to her family."

"You see, it's time to tie the knot. She loves you, you love her. It was bound to happen sooner or later," he joked, nudging his stiff friend.

Cracking a smile, Darien finally turned his attention to his best friend since Dorothy. "You know, I have been dreaming of this day since we met and now that it's finally here. . . I can't seem to wait for it to be over."

Andrew raised an eyebrow. "Excited for the wedding night much?"

For that comment, he received a glare and smack in the stomach. "Get your mind out of the gutter!"

He laughed lightly in response. "Just kidding. Why are you so nervous anyway? You're. . . not having second thoughts, are you?"

"What? No way! Just the thought of Serena finally being my WIFE makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. I just. . . I don't know, I guess I'm not used to being the center of attention, that's all."

"Ah, don't worry about it. You'll do fine. Besides, no one ever pays attention to the groom, just the bride. You know that. As long as you have your vows memorized."

"Like the back of my hand."

"Excuse me, are you the best man?" asked the wedding coordinator. Andrew turned to the new voice, nodding his head. "Yup, that's me."

"The ceremony's about to start, you need to go take your place."

"Alright, I'm on my way."

As the coordinator walked away, he turned to Darien once more, slapping him lightly on the shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. Just keep your eye on the honeymoon. . ." And with that, he quickly jogged down the aisle, away from danger.

Darien sighed, his eyes running over the crowd, beginning to hush as music drifted through the church. Soon, Andrew and Serena's maid of honor, Raye, began walking down the aisle linking arms. After separating at the altar, Mina and a friend from Darien's college began walking down. Slowly, Darien's eyes moved over the other onlookers. There was Serena's mom, crying while Sammy sat next to her, asking what was wrong. Her grandparents were in the next aisle, as well as aunts and uncles he'd met briefly at the family gathering last week. Serena had been set on introducing him to her relatives before they were hitched. He could see some friends from her school, and even some of her teachers.

The other side of the church was noticeably emptier, but still held quite a few of his friends and acquaintances. His stare washed over his English professor, some college buddies, Ms. Otomadachi and Kevin Saotomai, Dorothy and her husband, Rita and some of her friends, employees from his work. . .

'Wha?'

His stare darted quickly back to a short, plump woman sitting in the front row, next to Ms. Otomadachi. His jaw fell for a moment, before he forced himself to pick it up. Dorothy smiled at him, mouthing the words 'I promised.'

A smile pulled at his lips and his eyes looked down the aisle for a moment as the flower girl, one of Serena's cousins, came skipping toward him and the music changed. When he looked back at the piers, Dorothy and her husband were gone. He sighed silently, knowing she was still watching him, and his eyes lifted to watch the angel now floating down the aisle.

Once again, his breath caught.

The sheer veil hid most of her golden hair, but select tendrils framed her glowing face. She seemed to sparkle with radiance as she slowly stepped toward him, their eyes locked. Her dress was made of fine satin, reflecting the soft light coming through the stained glass windows of the church and candles placed among the aisle. A diamond choker and simple sash around her shoulders made her look like a queen as she walked down the aisle, her arm strung through her father's, and the train dragging a few feet behind her.

He gulped, not trying to quit his gawking. This gorgeous, incredible, ethereal creature. . . was about to become his wife. . . His lips curved into a smile as he looked deep into her glowing blue eyes. He heard a few words being spoken as she stopped a few feet away from him, and her father deserted her side. Shakily, and yet very certain, Darien took his spot, hooking her delicate arm in his. She smiled at him lovingly, a million thoughts in her head, ranging from cake to klutz attacks, and yet always filtering back to the man who was grinning down on her now. He held more love and joy in that simple gaze than she had believed anyone could hold for a single person. And yet, her heart was matching his exactly. . .

Their feet guiding them before the priest, they turned to face each other, her soft hands being taken into his warm and caressing hold.

"You look beautiful," he whispered so that only she, and possibly the priest, could hear. She blushed slightly, as he knew she would. "I love you, princess."

Her gaze looked deep into his soul, her eyes becoming damp, and whispered adoringly, "And I will love you always, my prince."

"We are gathered here today. . ."

* * *

That's the end of this series. I hope you enjoyed it! 


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